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India Makes History As Its Chandrayaan-3 Lands On The Moon’s South Pole

India is now the first nation to land on the moon’s South Pole with its Chandrayaan-3.

Published August 23, 2023

The South Pole is an unexplored territory that most scientists believe could hold vital reserves of frozen water and precious elements. Now, India has become the fourth nation to land on the territory with its Chandrayaan-3, which means ‘moon vehicle’ in Hindi and Sanskrit. This milestone means India has officially beaten out the US, China, and Russia in the unmapped region.

The Chandrayaan-3 is expected to remain functional for two weeks, running experiments including a spectrometer analysis of the mineral composition of the lunar surface.

India Makes History As Its Chandrayaan-3 Lands On The Moon’s South Pole — AP

The Indian Space Research Organization’s successful mission marks its beginning as a space power. The government looks to spur investment in private space launches and similar satellite-based businesses. As the lander with a rover tucked inside touched down at 8:34 a.m. ET, it instantly sparked cheers among scientists watching in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
'India🇮🇳,
I reached my destination
and you too!'
: Chandrayaan-3

Chandrayaan-3 has successfully
soft-landed on the moon 🌖!.

Congratulations, India🇮🇳!#Chandrayaan_3 #Ch3
— ISRO (@isro) August 23, 2023

‘India’s pursuit of space exploration reaches a remarkable milestone with the impending Chandrayaan-3 Mission, poised to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface,’ IRSO said in a statement. ‘This achievement marks a significant step forward for Indian Science, Engineering, Technology, and Industry, symbolizing our nation´s progress in space exploration.’ India previously attempted to land on the moon four years ago with its Chandrayaan-2 lander.

VIDEO | Chandrayaan 3 Mission: Lander module makes soft landing on the Moon surface.#Chandrayaan3 #Chandrayaan3Landing #ISRO pic.twitter.com/8GCKiuSOVD
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 23, 2023

This milestone is India’s second attempt, and it comes less than a week after Russia’s Luna-25 mission failed to touch down at the South Pole.

The Luna-25 specifically got into an uncontrolled orbit and instantly crashed. However, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, which had just two engines firing, began descending at 8:30 a.m. ET and slowed down its thrusters for a soft landing. An animation of Chandrayaan-3 was shown in the control room, which allowed the team to watch the mission in real-time. Carla Filotico, a partner and managing director at consultancy SpaceTec Partners, has spoken on the milestone.

Filotico 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.’ Thanks to the push by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India now has space launches and looks forward to opening the sector to foreign investment, targeting a five-fold increase in the global launch market within the next decade. The PM was seen on a livestream broadcast waving an Indian flag as the Chandrayaan-3 landed.

‘India is now on the Moon,’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared.

Hours before the successful landing, the mood was quite upbeat at the spacecraft command center, with ISRO officials and scientists hooked over huge screens monitoring the lander, as well as banner headlines flooding Indian newspapers and new channels, running countdowns to the landing. Per the DailyMail, children also gathered on the banks of the Ganga River, considered holy by Hindus, to pray for a safe landing, and mosques in numerous places also offered prayers.

Numerous countries and private companies are interested in the south pole region of the moon, as permanently shadowed craters might hold frozen water that could help future astronaut missions. However, at the Sikh temple, known as a gurdwara, in New Delhi’s capital, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also offered prayers for Chandrayaan-3. ‘Not just economic, but India is achieving scientific and technological progress as well,’ Puri told reporters outside the temple. Notably, the rough terrain often makes a South Pole landing challenging.