Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2
Chandrayaan-3 landed on the lunar surface on Wednesday (August 23, 2023) at 6.04 p.m.- the exact time when Vikram lander touched down at the Moon's South Pole. India has now become the first nation to land near the South Pole, which is a hot new destination since traces of water were found on the moon.
India has become the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the moon. Before India, Russia, the United States of America and China have achieved this remarkable feat.
Russia
On September 12, 1959, Russia, then known as the USSR, became the first country to achieve a successful lunar landing. This was a hard-landed spacecraft but the country managed to soft-land seven years later in 1966.
US
In 1966, the US soft-landed on the moon a few months after Russia. The US already has 11 soft landings which is the most in the world. That's not all, US is the only country in the world to land twelve people on the moon through six space missions.
China
In 2013, China became the third country to land on the moon. On January 3, 2019, China became the first country to land a rover on the dark side of the moon.
Reuters explained why space agencies are racing to the moon's south pole. The agency said the presence of frozen water on the moon is one of the main reasons.
Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 and its objectives are to demonstrate safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, roving on the Moon, and to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.
The Rs 600 crore Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14 on board the Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM-3) rocket and took 41 days to reach its destination.