How did India become the fourth country to land on the Moon?
India's Chandrayaan-3 succeeded where others failed, landing near the Moon's south pole on a budget smaller than many Hollywood films.
The answer
On August 23, 2023, India's Chandrayaan-3 successfully soft-landed near the lunar south pole at 69.37°S latitude, making India the fourth country to land on the Moon after the USSR, US, and China - and the first to land near the south pole. The mission cost approximately $75 million, less than the production budget of many Hollywood blockbusters. The Vikram lander deployed the Pragyan rover, which operated for 14 Earth days, confirming the presence of sulfur, aluminum, iron, calcium, and titanium in the lunar regolith using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Temperature measurements revealed a surprisingly steep thermal gradient of 50°C within the top 10 centimeters of soil. The success came four years after Chandrayaan-2's lander crashed during descent in 2019.
Source: Indian Space Research Organisation
- Chandrayaan-3
- India
- lunar south pole
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