India successfully lands Chandrayaan-3 on the moon’s south pole

India becomes 4th country after former Soviet Union, U.S. and China to succeed in soft landing on moon

NEW DELHI, India – India made history Wednesday with the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission lander on the moon’s South Pole.

This makes India the fourth country after the former Soviet Union, the U.S. and China to succeed in a soft landing on the moon.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission is India’s third lunar mission and the first to explore the lunar south pole, a region considered rich in water.

The lander, named Vikram, landed at 8:33 a.m. ET (1233 GMT, or 6:03 p.m. Indian Standard Time) in Simpherov Crater, located at about 70 degrees south latitude.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the landing as a “historic achievement” and said it “changes the history of lunar exploration.”

He said the mission was for “the entire humanity.”

Previously, the lander and rover of India’s Chandrayaan-2 mission crash-landed in 2019.

The moon landing comes ahead of India’s general election, which will be held early next year.

Opposition parties have warned Modi against using the mission for political purposes.

The Chandrayaan-3 lander is expected to remain in operation for two weeks, during which time it will conduct a series of experiments.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission is the first to use a new type of lander that is expected to be more stable and less prone to crashes.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission is a joint project of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Russian Space Agency.

The mission paves the way for a permanent human presence on the lunar surface.

China plans to send a rover to the moon’s south pole in 2024, and the U.S. plans to send a manned mission to the moon in 2025.

Earlier on Sunday Russia’s first lunar mission in 47 years smashed into the moon in failure. In April Japanese startup space craft also failed to land on moon after it ran out of fuel.