India Becomes Fourth Country to Land a Spacecraft on Moon

Landing on the moon has always been a huge task as world powers battle to place their spacecraft on the moon. With failed attempts from different countries and even the latest Russia's Luna 25 mission failed on Aug 19 which happened after the spacecraft engine misfired—making India the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the moon.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft which had its successful landing on August 23 was witnessed by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi who gave this speech after the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft had a soft landing.

• On this joyous occasion…I would like to address all the people of the world.

• India’s successful moon mission is not just India’s alone.

• This is a year in which the world is witnessing India’s G20 presidency.

• Our approach of one Earth, one family, one future is resonating across the globe.

• This human-centric approach that we present and represent has been welcomed universally. 

• Our moon mission is also based on the same human-centric approach.

• Therefore, this success belongs to all of humanity, and it will help moon missions by other countries in the future.

• We can all aspire for the moon and beyond.

The Video

A spacecraft having a "soft landing" occurs when the spacecraft lands on the moon without any difficulty in landing and with no damage.

The launching of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was organized by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) with approval from the government.

The launching happened in mid-July with the spacecraft having to journey a 40-day fuel efficient course before landing at 8:34 a.m. ET.

Upon a successful landing, the ISRO announced, "Chandrayaan-3 Mission: 'India, I reached my destination and you too!" 

However, the Chandrayaan-3 mission is not complete after the safe landing—there are some objectives it has to show, which are:

- Demonstration of the rover moving on the moon

- The spacecraft to conduct “in-situ scientific experiments”

Researchers will have two weeks to study what they want to study since the lander and rover will be functional for this period. Things that researchers will look at involve:

• Lunar seismic activity

• Chemical composition of rocks and soil

• Variation in the moon's thin atmosphere

• Temperature of the lunar surface

So far, India's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is the closest to the moon's south pole in history. The moon's south pole is regarded as an area where there are high levels of water ice deposits which can serve as drinking water for astronauts and also can be converted to rocket fuel for spacecraft.

India's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft lander called Vikram weighs about 1,700 kilograms (3,748 pounds), and 26-kilogram (57.3-pound). It also had with it some scientific instruments to help researchers acquire data to analyze the lunar surface and other necessary information about the moon.

Although this is not the first trial India is having—the country had a failed attempt in 2019 due to a last-minute software glitch that made the lander crash on the moon's surface.

Back story

In June, India's Prime Minister had a meeting with the U.S. President, Joe Biden to look at ways to foster the relationship with both countries including space adventures.

After the meeting, NASA said that it would provide training to Indian astronauts at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, "to mount a joint effort to the International Space Station in 2024." 

Also, NASA announced that the Artemis II mission which will send astronauts to the moon is also seeking to reach the lunar south pole.