India Becomes Fourth Nation to Put a Lander on Moon Following Russian Crash

The successful Chandrayaan-3 mission also marked the world’s first landing in the moon’s south polar region.

Jack Daleo

Wednesday, August 23, 2023 at 04:52 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

The Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 mission to the lunar south pole took flight in July. [Courtesy: ISRO]

Key Takeaways:

India's Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully soft-landed its Vikram lunar lander on the Moon, making it the fourth nation to achieve this and the first to land in the challenging south polar region.
The mission aims to perform scientific experiments for two weeks, specifically searching for water ice, which is a key objective due to its potential as a resource for future human settlements.
This achievement highlights a renewed global race to the Moon, with many nations and private companies now focused on exploring and potentially utilizing the strategic resources of the lunar south pole.

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Space exploration is no longer the two-horse race it once was. While the U.S. and the former Soviet Union dominated the early decades of lunar missions, countries around the world are now racing to the moon’s surface—including the most populous nation on Earth.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, India’s Vikram lunar lander, part of the country’s Chandrayaan-3 (literal translation: “moon vehicle”) mission, successfully touched down on the moon’s surface.