A rising Space power: Indian spacecraft lands near the Moon’s south pole in world first.

A rising Space power: Indian spacecraft lands near the Moon's south pole in world first. India has joined the exclusive club of countries that have landed a spacecraft on the Moon, after the United States, the USSR and China. For around 20 minutes on Wednesday, August 23, the country remained riveted to its screens. All eyes were on Chandrayaan-3, whose Vikram lander began its crucial descent toward the Moon. The spacecraft, which gradually slowed, finally landed gently near the south pole, an as yet unexplored region. A world first, and yet another milestone in the history of India's space program. This was the second attempt. In 2019, a first Indian mission failed after the craft entered orbit around the Moon, but lost contact with the team on Earth. Cheers and applause rang out in Bangalore on Wednesday from the control center of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). More than 7 million people also followed the moon landing live on ISRO's YouTube channel. "India’s successful moon mission is not just India’s alone," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Johannesburg, where he was attending the BRICS summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). "This success belongs to all of humanity," he declared, adding "It will help moon missions by other countries in the future." 'Low-cost exploration” Since the departure of Chandrayaan-3 – Sanskrit for "lunar ship" – on July 14 from the launch pad in Sriharikota, in the south of the country, enthusiasm has been running high, reaching a crescendo. On Wednesday, thousands of people across India prayed for the mission's success, and schools across the country organized special ceremonies. India has also done more with less than its top global counterparts, with ISRO’s annual budget a fraction of NASA’s. In 2020, ISRO estimated the Chandrayaan-3 mission would cost about $75 million. The mission was originally slated for 2021, but was delayed by the Covid pandemic. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson congratulated ISRO on the successful landing in a post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, adding, “We’re glad to be your partner on this mission!” The Indian space mission, which cost only $75 million (€69 million) – less than the budget of the film Gravity, estimated at $100 million – has succeeded where Russia failed four days earlier. Luna-25 crashed on August 19, two days before its scheduled lunar landing in the same region, following an uncontrolled shift in orbit. The failure was attributed to a loss of expertise on the part of Roscosmos, the country’s space agency. The lunar south pole has emerged as a place of exploration interest thanks to recent discoveries of traces of water ice on the moon. India previously attempted a lunar south pole landing in September 2019, but a software failure caused the Chandrayaan-2 mission to crash into the surface. ″[The south pole is] really a very interesting, historical, scientific and geologic area that a lot of countries are trying to get at that can serve as a base for future exploration,” said Wendy Whitman Cobb, professor of strategy and security studies at the U.S. Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies. Whitman Cobb added that the discovery of water on the south pole of the moon is “really important for future exploration,” as it could serve as a source of fuel for rockets and spacecraft.