India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully landed in the southern polar region of the moon today, making it the fourth country to do this. According to the New York Times, Prime Minister Modi said this was “the moment for a new, developing India.” India’s success in this mission could make it a global superpower.
India’s mission was a “slower, fuel-conscious route” to the moon. India’s lander named Vikram was half of a two-part mission with Russia’s Luna-25, which crashed into the surface of the moon on Saturday.
India is the first country to land at one of the poles of the moon, making history in space travel. The southern polar region is particularly interesting to countries traveling to space due to possible traces of water that have been found in the deep craters on the moon. The area is often in complete darkness, making it hard to explore.
India had previously attempted to travel to the moon on the Chandrayaan-2 mission but was unsuccessful. News outlets are calling this the “Space Race 2.0,” due to the numerous countries trying to successfully make it into the area by 2025.
India has been working with the United States and France to become an emerging space power, and this moon landing is a national point of pride for the country. Hundreds of people gathered outside of India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research to celebrate.
