Success: India successfully landed on the moon with an unmanned landing device on Wednesday. That was shown on a live stream of the Indian Space Program (ISRO). Named Chandrayaan-3, the mission dropped the Vikram lander near the moon’s south pole. That is a world first. India is the first country to successfully land so close to the south pole of the moon. That special achievement follows a few days after the Russian lunar lander Luna-25, which was also on its way to the lunar south pole, crashed into the lunar dust.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi waving a small Indian flag was seen on the live stream. “India is now on the moon,” he said proudly.
The moon’s south pole is an area of interest for scientists. Using Chandrayaan-1—the predecessor of Chandrayaan-3 that orbited the moon but didn’t land—scientists found evidence of water ice at the South Pole. That could be a source of oxygen, fuel and water for astronauts on future lunar missions or a more permanent lunar colony. But despite the great interest, it has never been possible to get so close to the lunar south pole before. Landing on the moon is already complex, but the rugged terrain and permanent shadow make landing near the south pole even more difficult.
Rock and radiation
The Vikram lander carries the six-wheeled Pragyan rover in its belly. After landing, the rover crawls out of the lander to drive around the moon. During that journey, it will leave ISRO imprints − the wheels have the logo of the space program printed on them. The car and the landing module must take measurements for two weeks, including rock and radiation. On August 23, the day of the landing, the sun rises in the area. Two weeks later it sets again and the instruments are no longer powered.
India launched the unmanned Chandrayaan-3 (“lunar vehicle” in Sanskrit) on July 14 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. At the beginning of this month, the rocket entered lunar orbit and has since moved closer to the lunar surface as the moon is photographed.
Four years ago, India’s attempt to land on the moon failed. Chandrayaan-2 took off to the moon to investigate craters that may contain water, but crashed. A total of four countries have now been on the moon; in addition to India, the United States, China and the former Soviet Union.
Read also: Russia and India both hope to plant a flag in the moon ice next week