India makes moon landing history as they beat Russia to be first to land on South Pole
Chandrayaan-3 Mission Soft-landing LIVE Telecast
YouTube/Chandrayaan-3 Mission Soft-landing LIVE Telecast
India has made history as the first country to land a spacecraft on the south pole of the moon.
Their Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft has touched down on the moon's surface, beating Russia to be the first to land on the south pole.
"India is now on the Moon," beamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the Isro control room.
Ferocious applause broke out in the control room as India made history.
The successful landing makes India the fourth nation to land a spacecraft on the moon
YouTube/Chandrayaan-3 Mission Soft-landing LIVE Telecast
The attempt is India's third lunar mission.
The successful landing makes India the fourth nation to land a spacecraft on the moon, after the Soviet Union, the US and China.
It comes days after Russia's unmanned Luna-25 spacecraft span out of control and crashed into the Moon.
Now that the Indian spacecraft has landed, it will wait for a few hours before beginning its mission.
The six-wheeled rover will then explore the south pole region of the moon, collecting images and data.
Scientists believe craters on the south side of the moon that is permanently shrouded in shadow, may hold frozen water.
Both the lander and the rover are carrying five different scientific instruments which will help find out about "the physical characteristics of the surface of the Moon, the atmosphere close to the surface and the tectonic activity to study what goes on below the surface".
Any data and footage collected by the rover will be sent back to Earth for analysis.
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The six-wheeled rover will explore the south pole region of the moon, collecting images and data
YouTube/Chandrayaan-3 Mission Soft-landing LIVE Telecast
"India’s successful moon mission is not just India’s alone," Modi said.
He stated that the mission is based on a "human-centric" approach and its success is a success for all of humanity.
The prime minister also took to social media to share his country's immense success in space.
"Historic day for India’s space sector," he posted.