Congratulating ISRO scientists on the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moon, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said this will unlock new avenues of scientific discovery and India will now contribute in a big way to the world's space community.

India scripted history as ISRO's ambitious third moon mission touched down on the moon's surface.

"It will unlock new avenues of scientific discovery, shaping the future of lunar research, and India will now contribute in a big way to the world's space community," Goyal told reporters here.

It is a big vote of confidence in the abilities of Indian scientists, he said.

"Our space journey has proven that now even the sky is not the limit for India," he added.

The lander module comprising the lander (Vikram) and the 26-kg rover (Pragyan) made the soft landing near the south polar region of the moon at 6.04 pm, less than a week after a similar Russian lander crashed.

With this touchdown on the moon in the second attempt in four years, India has become the fourth country to master the technology of soft-landing on the lunar surface after the US, China and the erstwhile Soviet Union.

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