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India lands on the moon, first nation to reach the lunar south pole
- Chandrayaan-3, meaning ‘Mooncraft’ in Sanskrit, touched down near the little-explored south pole, with PM Narendra Modi calling it a ‘victory cry’
- A previous Indian effort failed in 2019, and the latest push came days after Russia’s first moon mission in almost 50 years crash landed
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An Indian spacecraft landed on the moon on Wednesday in a mission seen as crucial to lunar exploration and India’s standing as a space power, just days after a similar Russian lander crashed.
“This is a victory cry of a new India,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was seen waving the Indian flag as he watched the landing from South Africa, where he is attending the Brics summit.
Scientists and officials clapped, cheered and hugged one another as the spacecraft landed and as the government now looks to spur investment in private space launches and related satellite-based businesses.
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“India is on the moon,” said S. Somanath, chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), as the spacecraft touched down on the lunar south pole, making his nation the first to land on the little-explored area.
People across the country were glued to television screens and said prayers as the craft approached the moon’s surface. Anticipation was feverish, with banner headlines across newspapers, news channels running countdowns and children waving the Indian flag as they waited.
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It was a historic moment for the world’s most populous nation, as it closed in on milestones set by global space powers.
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