India, the most populous country in the world, made history on Wednesday when it became the first country to successfully land a craft close to the Moon’s south pole.
At 6:04 PM India time (12:34 PM GMT), the unmanned Chandrayaan-3, whose name translates to “Mooncraft” in Sanskrit, touched down. Mission control personnel erupted in jubilation and embraced their coworkers.
Its landing occurred four years after the previous Indian mission ended prematurely and only days after a Russian probe crashed in the same area.
India, the most populous country in the world, made history on Wednesday when it became the first country to successfully land a craft close to the Moon’s south pole.
At 6:04 PM India time (12:34 PM GMT), the unmanned Chandrayaan-3, whose name translates to “Mooncraft” in Sanskrit, touched down. Mission control personnel erupted in jubilation and embraced their coworkers.
Because they might preserve evidence of lunar volcanoes, material that comets and asteroids brought to Earth, and the genesis of oceans, pockets of ancient ice are of interest to scientists. If there is enough ice, it might be used to chill equipment and provide a source of drinking water for moon exploration.
Additionally, it might be broken down to create oxygen for breathing and hydrogen for propulsion, assisting journeys to Mars or lunar mining.
Any country cannot assert possession of the moon, according to the 1967 U.N. Outer Space Treaty. There is no clause that would halt business activities.
The Artemis Accords, a U.S.-led initiative to establish a set of guidelines for moon exploration and the use of its resources, have 27 signatories. Russia and China
What Specifically Makes The South Pole Troublesome?
There have been unsuccessful moon landing attempts previously. On Sunday, the Russian Luna-25 spacecraft, which was intended to land on the South Pole, crashed after spinning out of control as it approached.
The south pole is full of craters and deep pits and lies far from the equatorial region that was the objective of earlier missions, including the crewed Apollo landings.
Missions to the South Pole are scheduled by both China and the United States.
Modi spoke to the people of the world on this happy occasion while attending the BRICS diplomatic meeting in South Africa.
“India’s successful mission to the moon is not just India’s alone,” he continued. “This triumph belongs to the entire human race.”
Since its launch in front of thousands of cheering onlookers over six weeks ago, the Chandrayaan-3 mission has captured the public’s attention.
Hindu prayer rituals were conducted by politicians to wish the mission success, and kids watched the closing moments of its drop live in classrooms.
The most recent expedition only cost $74.6 million, which is far less than missions from other nations and a tribute to India’s economical space engineering.
According to experts, India can maintain costs low by cloning and adapting current technology in addition to having a large pool of highly trained engineers who are paid less than half what their colleagues abroad do.
India became the first Asian country to orbit Mars in 2014, and by next year, it plans to launch a crewed mission for three days into Earth’s orbit.
ISRO had been anxiously awaiting Wednesday’s landing following the disappointing failure of its previous mission at the very last moment in 2019.
