India makes history, lands near south pole of Moon

The two robotic explorers Vikram and Pragyan will now take readings and images of Earth’s satellite, with the primary objective of uncovering hidden lunar secrets

India became the first country to land near the Moon’s uncharted south pole region at 6.03pm after 18 nail-biting minutes of descent ended in a perfect touchdown, offering irrefutable evidence of the astronomical abilities and galactic ambitions of a nation that on Wednesday announced itself as one of the world’s foremost space powers.

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Chandrayaan-3’s touchdown — which completed an extraordinary arc of decades of scientific perseverance culminating in the automated choreography of 12 big and small rocket engines executed to clinical precision — also opened new vistas for the country’s space programme in the lucrative market of space exploration and commerce.

“India is on the Moon!” S Somanath, the chief of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said, as the Chandrayaan-3’s lander Vikram, with the Pragyan rover contained within, made a safe and soft landing on the Moon.

The watershed moment came mere days after Russia — a space veteran — crashed its mooncraft while attempting to reach the same territory. At an estimated budget of $75 million, Chandrayaan-3 was built at a fraction of the cost of not only previous American lunar missions but also this summer’s cinema blockbusters Oppenheimer and Barbie.The Russian Luna-25 had cost $200 million.

“This is a victory cry of a new India,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, waving the Indian flag as he watched the landing from South Africa. Beaming scientists and officials burst into applause and hugged each other in joy at Isro’s mission operations complex at Bengaluru after the Vikram lander finally came to a rest on the rugged lunar terrain after 18 minutes that pushed millions in India on the edge of their seats.

The two robotic explorers Vikram and Pragyan will now take readings and images of Earth’s satellite, with the primary objective of uncovering hidden lunar secrets. The rover slid down a flap from the lander around 10pm, once the plumes of moondust kicked up by the landing had settled. It will conduct experiments, including an analysis of the mineral composition of the lunar surface.

The mineral composition will be key to answering whether water ice is present at the south pole. This breakthrough could be crucial for drinking, breathing and rocket fuel resources to advance human space exploration deeper into the solar system in the future.

The mission itself, Isro officials said in the past and reiterated on Wednesday, was meant to demonstrate the Indian space agency’s aspirations of interplanetary travel and doing so at shoestring budgets unheard of in other countries. Till now, India had not successfully landed a craft on any celestial object.

Isro’s technological prowess was evident on Wednesday evening, when the Vikram lander, with the Pragyan rover in its belly, began a delicate and treacherous descent from an altitude of 30km and a speed of 6,048 km/hr. The lander, which separated from the orbiter on August 17, had circumvented the Moon 120 times over four days.

“In this time, all systems were certified and validated,” said Somanath.

It was in this complex descent phase four years ago that Chandrayaan-2 had failed to land, spinning out of control and crash landing onto the surface. That project’s orbiter, however, is still active and helped Indian scientists piggyback communications to the new spacecraft.

“ Chandrayaan-3’s work started four years back, but our scientists have been working on Chandrayaan-2 and before that on Chandrayaan-1 for years. We failed last time, but the lessons that we learnt from our failure, helped us perfect this mission,” Somanath said.

The descent itself was automated, sent as a series of computer commands 48 hours prior to the actual descent . The execution was the result of nine instruments — items that calculate altitude, sport hazards, estimate angles of incline and approach — made entirely in India.

P Veeramuthuvel, project director, Chandrayaan-3, who was also associated with Chandrayaan-2, said that landing success was a team effort at several levels.

“So many people have contributed to this mission. From the conception plan to building and improving the hardware, to rebuilding the craft, and ensuring that the mission achieves its targets in each step,” he said.

The successful landing heralds a new era for India’s comparatively frugal space programme that is closing on milestones set by space powers such as the US and former USSR, at a fraction of the cost — a testament to the skills of the country’s engineers and scientists who have adapted indigenous technology and devised novel ways to compensate.

Mastery over the technique to land crafts on the Moon will be crucial for the country to conquer a chunk of the burgeoning space exploration market — the next frontier in international economic and military forays. It will also bolster India’s position in international space collaboration made possible by the 2020 Artemis Accords anchored by the US.

As Vikram slowly descended on the Moon, millions across India crowded around televisions in offices, shops, restaurants, school classrooms, and homes, breathlessly following every update of India’s third lunar mission. Many prayed for the success of the mission in temples, mosques and churches.

Bharat Selvan, a businessman who was distributing sweets at the gate of ISTRAC on Wednesday after the landing, said that it was a moment of pride for every Indian.

“I do not know the details of the mission. I will leave that for the scientists to discuss. But today every Indian is proud of what we have achieved. We have managed to do what no other country has done, even the developed nations. This will encourage the younger generations to take up science and make us a superpower,” Selvan said.

The landmark moment held echoes of the iconic July 1969 Moon landing, which galvanised a generation of Americans and propelled innovation and scientific temper, sealing US’s position as a leading military and industrial power for the next half-century.

After the landing, congratulations poured in.

“Today with the successful Moon landing ...our scientists have not only made history but also remade the idea of geography...the kind of event that happens once in a lifetime making India proud,” President Droupadi Murmu said in a video message.

“Chandrayaan 3’s soft landing on the uncharted lunar south pole is the result of decades of tremendous ingenuity and hard work,” Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X, formerly called Twitter.

Praise also came in from around the world. “Your success will power the imagination and light the future of people around the world,” the US State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs posted on X.

“Incredible!” European Space Agency’s director general Josef Aschbacher tweeted. “I am thoroughly impressed.”

Nasa’s former science mission chief, Thomas Zurbuchen, who now works at ETH Zurich, a public research university in Switzerland where he is leading its space initiative, said he felt proud of the achievement.

Russia’s space agency Roscosmos congratulated India on the landing. “Exploration of the Moon is important for all mankind. In the future it may become a platform for deep space exploration.” it said in a post on its Telegram channel.