Vikram Lander lands safely on surface of the lunar south pole at 6 pm IST
India on August 23, 2023 became only the fourth country in the world to land a spacecraft on the Moon. It also became the first country to soft land on the lunar south pole.
The Chandrayaan-3 Mission, coming four years after the failure of Chandrayaan-2 in 2019, has now put India in the company of the United States, the former Soviet Union and China, the other three countries to ever land spacecrafts on the Moon.
The spacecraft had been launched on July 14 and was to land today. The descent began at 5.45 pm, with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) starting the live telecast at 5.20 pm.
With the success of Chandrayaan-3, India now has become a space power with a proven track record. India’s space economy is expected to grow to $12.8 billion by 2025.
Overall, countries have made 47 attempts at soft landing on the moon of which only 21, including Chandrayaan-3, have been successful.
The success of Chandrayaan-3 comes even as the global race to send unmanned and manned spacecraft to the Moon, Mars and space in general is heating up with both, developing and developed countries vying to do so.
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