- India has landed on the moon’s south pole – an unmapped region of the surface
- The nation now joins Russia, China and the US in landing on the moon
- Chandrayaan-3 will determine if water ice is hiding in the south pole region
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India has become the fourth country to land on the moon after its Chandrayaan-3 touched the lunar surface Wednesday.
The craft, which means ‘moon vehicle’ in Hindi and Sanskrit, landed on the south pole – beating the US, China and Russia to the unmapped region.
For India, the successful landing marks its emergence as a space power as the government looks to spur investment in private space launches and related satellite-based businesses.
Chandrayaan-3 is expected to remain functional for two weeks, running a series of experiments, including a spectrometer analysis of the mineral composition of the lunar surface to determine if there is water ice.
India has become the fourth country to land on the moon after its Chandrayaan-3 made a soft landing on the lunar surface, days after a similar Russian lander crashed
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi watched the epic mission from South Africa and waved the nation’s flag once the landing was confirmed
This was India’s second attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon and came less than a week after Russia’s Luna-25 mission failed to touch down on the South pole.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft began decent at 8:30 am ET, slowing down its thrusters for a soft landing.
Carla Filotico, a partner and managing director at consultancy SpaceTec Partners, said: ‘Landing on the South Pole (of the moon) would actually allow India to explore if there is water ice on the moon.
‘And this is very important for cumulative data and science on the geology of the moon.’
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With a push by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has space launches and is looking to open the sector to foreign investment as it targets a five-fold increase in its share of the global launch market within the next decade.
For India, the successful landing marks its emergence as a space power as the government looks to spur investment in private space launches and related satellite-based businesses
India celebrated the successful mission as they watched from the nation. Crowds erupted the moment the mission was announced to be successful
The rocket carrying the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, an island off the coast of southern Andhra Pradesh state on July 14
A few hours before the scheduled landing, the mood was upbeat at the spacecraft command center on the outskirts of Bengaluru as ISRO officials and scientists hunched over massive screens monitoring the lander.
Anticipation before the landing was feverish, with banner headlines across Indian newspapers and news channels running countdowns to the landing.
Children gathered on the banks of the Ganga river, considered holy by Hindus, to pray for a safe landing, and mosques in several places offered prayers.
At a Sikh temple, known as a gurduwara, in New Delhi’s capital, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also offered prayers for Chandrayaan.
‘Not just economic, but India is achieving scientific and technological progress as well,’ Puri told reporters.
Rough terrain makes a South Pole landing difficult, and a first landing is historic.
The region’s ice could supply fuel, oxygen and drinking water for future missions.
