Google celebrates India's Chandrayaan-3 feat with special doodle
New Delhi, Aug 24: Search engine giant Google on Thursday celebrated India's success in its third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 with a special animated doodle.
India scripted history on Wednesday with its touchdown on the lunar south pole, making it the first nation to land on the uncharted surface.
With this achievement, India was propelled into an exclusive club of four, becoming the fourth country after the US, China and the erstwhile Soviet Union to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon.
Lauding this historic feat, the Internet behemoth has come up with a doodle "celebrating the first landing on the moon's south pole".
The graphically dynamic doodle depicts letters of 'GOOGLE' floating in outer space amid twinkling stars, with an animated 'moon' forming the second 'O' in the sequence. It also shows a spacecraft making a soft landing on the moon's south pole.
"Today's doodle celebrates the first-ever landing on the moon's south pole! The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota Range, Andhra Pradesh, India on July 14, 2023 and successfully touched down near the lunar south pole region on August 23, 2023," read the note on Thursday's Google Doodle.
"Moon landings are no easy feat. Previously, only the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union have completed soft landings on the moon but no country has made it to the southern pole region before now," it added.
In an epic moment for India as it joined the elite club in the space sector, the nation on Wednesday erupted in celebrations to hail the country's historic achievement.
Comprising the lander (Vikram) and the rover (Pragyan), the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole at 6.04 pm.
"The moon's south pole has been an area of heightened interest for space explorers as they suspected the existence of ice deposits located inside permanently shadowed craters. Chandrayaan-3 has now confirmed this prediction to be true! This ice offers the potential of critical resources for future astronauts such as air, water, and even hydrogen rocket fuel," added the Google note with the doodle.
Just spotted the stunning Google Doodle for Chandrayaan-3! 🔵🚀 The search engine giant transformed its logo into an animated scene of the Moon, showcasing the Vikram Lander, Pragyan Rover, and Earth, with a special nod to India. 🌍🇮🇳 #Chandrayaan3 #GoogleDoodle pic.twitter.com/m3H6IbA2N4
— Anjali💙 (@AnjaliEarth) August 24, 2023
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Several Gurugram schools receive hoax bomb threats
Gurugram (PTI): Several Gurugram schools received another hoax bomb threat emails on Wednesday morning, prompting police to launch searches on the premises.
Police said the email was sent by the 'Khalistan National Army', with threats issued to Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to declare April 29 as the "40th Khalistan Declaration Day". It also threatened to bomb the Red Fort in Delhi.
Police said it was a hoax as no suspicious items were found after an intensive search.
Several schools, including Shri Ram, Amity, and the HDFC school, received threatening emails at 8.33 am, when classes had already begun, police said.
The school administrations became aware of the threats around 9 am and immediately informed the police, a senior police officer said.
The schools immediately implemented emergency protocols, with many declaring a holiday and asking parents to take their children home safely, the officer said.
A large number of anxious parents gathered outside the schools, as police and bomb squad teams reached the spots and started checks.
"Around 10 schools have approached the police from morning until now over bomb threats. Police teams are alert, and searches are underway on all the premises", the officer said.
As soon as the information about this email was received, police in Gurugram and Delhi swung into action and started investigation.
Schools immediately implemented emergency protocols upon receiving the mail. Many schools declared a holiday and sent messages to parents, asking them to take their children home. Large crowds of parents gathered outside the schools.
The schools were sanitised by sending a bomb disposal squad as well as a dog squad.
A senior police officer said that police teams thoroughly searched the school premises, classrooms, buildings, and surrounding areas. No suspicious objects or explosive materials were found during the investigation.
"Police teams are seriously investigating the entire matter. Cyber experts are being consulted to determine the authenticity of the email, its source, and the identity of the sender", added the officer.
This is the third time since January that schools have received fake bomb threats.
In March, at least a dozen schools in the city received bomb threat emails, which later turned out to be hoaxes.
Similarly, on January 28, as many as 13 schools received hoax bomb threats via email, forcing authorities to evacuate campuses and suspend classes.
Last month, police arrested a Bangladeshi national whose email ID was allegedly used to make a bomb threat for some payment.
