The successful landing marks India's emergence as a space power. It makes India the fourth country after the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China to achieve the feat.India on Wednesday became the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon's south pole.

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The Chandrayaan-3, lander made a "soft landing" on the lunar surface just after 18:04 India time (1234 UTC).

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It comes just days after Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after losing control.

India's standing as a space power

India's previous attempt to land on the moon failed in 2019, but former space chief K. Sivan is optimistic about the latest mission's success based on images the lander sent.

"It is giving some encouragement that we will be able to achieve the landing mission without any problem," he said.

The mission was launched nearly six weeks ago, and anticipation and excitement for the landing were high across India.

Prayers took place in temples, mosques, and churches and schoolchildren waved the Indian flag while waiting for live screenings of the landing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was expected to watch the landing from South Africa, where he is attending the BRICS summit.

Modi hoped mission success would spur investment in private space launches and related satellite-based businesses.

Chandrayaan-3's mission

The south pole of the moon has potential as a source of oxygen, fuel, and water for future missions and a moon colony.

Chandrayaan-3 is expected to explore it for two weeks, running a series of experiments to determine the mineral composition of the lunar surface.

Several countries, including the United States, China, Israel and Japan, aim to set up a base on the moon.

Only the United States, China and the former Soviet Union have previously achieved a controlled landing on the lunar surface.

lo/fb (AFP, Reuters)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 23, 2023 06:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).