India makes history by landing spacecraft near Moon’s south pole

India accomplished a historic milestone on August 23, 2023, by successfully landing a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole. This achievement holds great scientific importance as it could reveal valuable frozen water reserves.

At around 6:04 p.m. local time, a rover-carrying lander safely touched down on the moon’s surface. The successful touchdown sparked nationwide celebrations, especially in Bengaluru, where space scientists erupted in cheers.

“India is now on the moon. India has reached the south pole of the moon — no other country has achieved that. We are witnessing history,” Modi said as he waved the Indian flag while watching the landing from South Africa, where he is participating in the BRICS summit.

Following the significant moon landing of India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) shared four images of the lunar surface near the south pole captured by the lander’s Horizontal Velocity Camera.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
Updates:

The communication link is established between the Ch-3 Lander and MOX-ISTRAC, Bengaluru.

Here are the images from the Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera taken during the descent. #Chandrayaan_3#Ch3 pic.twitter.com/ctjpxZmbom

— ISRO (@isro) August 23, 2023

Chandrayaan-3

Chandrayaan-3 is a space mission to help advance technologies for interplanetary travel. It includes a self-developed lander module (LM), propulsion module (PM), and a rover. The Lander is designed to gently touch down on a specific lunar location and release the Rover. The Rover will then move across the lunar surface, performing on-site chemical analyses. Both the Lander and Rover carry scientific tools for lunar experiments.

The Propulsion module’s primary role is to transport the Lander from the launch vehicle to a final lunar orbit, about 100 km above the lunar surface. Once this is accomplished, the lander and the propulsion module will separate. The propulsion module carries an extra scientific instrument, which will be activated after the lander’s detachment.

Chandrayaan-3’s key goals include:

1. Demonstrating a safe and gentle landing on the Moon’s surface.
2. Exhibiting the Rover’s mobility and exploration capabilities on the lunar terrain.
3. Conducting hands-on scientific experiments directly on the lunar surface.

First landing on Moon’s south pole

India’s Chandrayaan-3 (‘moon craft’ in Sanskrit) landing has made India the first country to land near the lunar south pole, an uncharted territory for humanity.

Why is Moon’s south pole important? The south pole holds crucial importance as it could provide insights into presence of water on lunar surface.

Lunar water ice is a valuable resource. If presence is confirmed, it could potentially offer drinking water and aid in equipment cooling. -Breakdown of water ice could yield hydrogen for fuel and oxygen for breathing, benefiting missions to Mars and lunar mining.

The Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing follows a 2019 setback, placing India among the United States, Soviet Union, and China in achieving this significant space exploration feat.

India’s lunar success follows Russia’s recent misfortune. On August 19, Russia’s Luna-25, targeting the same south pole lunar area, veered off course, leading to an uncontrolled orbit and eventual crash. This incident dashed Russia’s hopes of a successful lunar landing, which would have been their first in 47 years.

The United States and China have also planned missions to the south pole.