India has become the fourth country to have landed on the Moon after Chandrayaan-3, the country's uncrewed lunar exploration mission, successfully touched down on the south pole.
Coming just days after Russia’s US$ 200 million unmanned Luna-25 spacecraft lost control and crashed into the Moon, India’s space mission, which cost around £45 million, becomes the first spacecraft to reach the south pole.
Landing near the south pole is considered extremely challenging due to a lack of light, uneven surfaces and countless craters and boulders, but experts believe it could be huge in the hunt for water.
Making history Source: BBC
Nevertheless, at 1.33 pm GMT, India joined the Soviet Union, the US, and China in touching down on Earth’s only natural satellite, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi declaring “India is now on the Moon” moments later.
Celebrations erupted at the control room back in Bengaluru, but the focus now switches to the six-wheeled rover called Pragyaan, which – should everything go to plan – will roam the surface to gather data and images.
Moments of celebration Source:BBC
Later this year, Elon Musk is planning to follow in India’s footsteps, taking Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and eight others into an orbit around the Moon as part of the dearMoon project.
Nasa is planning on launching Moon mission Artemis II in 2024 while a joint exploration between Japan and India to investigate the “dark side” of the Moon is scheduled for 2026.