In a goof-up, a Rajasthan minister on Wednesday congratulated “passengers” he suggested were taking part in the Chandrayaan-3 mission to the moon.

Rajasthan Sports Minister Ashok Chandna made the slip hours before the touchdown by Chandrayaan’s lander on the lunar surface – an unmanned landing eagerly anticipated across the country.

“If we are successful and make a safe landing, I salute the passengers,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an event here. “Our country has taken a step further in science and space research. I congratulate the countrymen for this.” Chandrayaan-3 made a successful soft-landing on the moon Wednesday evening, making India only the fourth country to do so and first to reach its uncharted south pole.

Special prayers were held in different parts of the country for the mission’s success. During the final minutes of the landing, people remained glued to their screens to watch the scene unfolding at ISRO’s mission control room.

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