How India won the race to the moon鈥檚 south pole
| New Delhi
The scientists were glued to their screens, as were millions of others tuning in at home. All watched anxiously as the spacecraft鈥檚 four silver feet touched down.
鈥淚ndia is on the moon,鈥� declared Sreedhara Somanath, the chief of the Indian Space Research Organization, as the control room in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru erupted in cheers.
It was a moment the whole nation had been waiting for. By becoming one of the few countries to land on the moon 鈥� and the first to do so near its south pole 鈥� India has proved its capacity for technological innovation and cemented itself as a space power.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onLanding the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft near the moon鈥檚 strategically important south pole is a major milestone for India鈥檚 evolving space program, demonstrating what can be achieved with modest resources.
鈥淭his moment is an invocation of India鈥檚 rising destiny,鈥� Prime Minister Narendra Modi said moments after the landing. 鈥淭his moment is a victory cry for a new India.鈥�
The United States, China, and the former Soviet Union have landed on the moon before, but not near this critical area for future manned missions. Russia almost beat India to the moon鈥檚 south pole, but its Luna 25 spacecraft crashed on August 20.
The landing is not only a triumph for India鈥檚 scrappy space program, but also, observers note, a testament to what can be achieved with enough ingenuity and perseverance. India鈥檚 quest for the moon reflects the government鈥檚 shifting vision for its role in outer space and has captured the public imagination.聽
Astrophysicist and Ashoka University Vice Chancellor Somak Raychaudhury says the mission鈥檚 success will inspire India鈥檚 youth to pursue science. Even when Chandrayaan-3 first launched in July, he says, 鈥渢here was this huge euphoria, which you only see when India wins a cricket match.鈥�
Space enthusiast Goutham Mehta, who has keenly followed the mission鈥檚 progress, is feeling that euphoria, too. India is telling the world, 鈥淲e have arrived,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 feel very proud.鈥�
A complex feat
Chandrayaan-3 鈥� 鈥淐handrayaan鈥� meaning mooncraft in Sanskrit 鈥� is India鈥檚 third lunar mission and second attempt at a soft landing on the moon. Chandrayaan-2鈥檚 lander crashed four years ago due to a technical glitch during the final leg of its journey. Indian scientists incorporated lessons from past mistakes into the new design, which included an expanded landing area and more fuel.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 rigorous homework, a lot of hard work put in, and perseverance,鈥� says Annapurni Subramaniam at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
Landing on the moon is 鈥渆xtremely complicated,鈥� says Professor Subramaniam. Gravity and air work differently, and the terrain is full of craters. The lander must touch down gently on its four feet 鈥� too much inclination and it would just tumble over, she explains. And that鈥檚 assuming that the spacecraft鈥檚 launch and flight go according to plan.
Several countries, including Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Japan, have tried in recent years to land on the moon but failed.聽
Chandrayaan-3鈥檚 success puts India on the map, says Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan at the Observer Research Foundation, a think tank. It highlights 鈥渢he sophistication of India鈥檚 space capability despite the fact that India operates on a very tiny, small budget,鈥� she says.聽
The Chandrayaan-3 mission cost roughly $75 million, less than the price of a Boeing 737 jet and a fraction of the cost of other lunar missions.
Researchers are particularly excited to make contact with the moon鈥檚 previously unexplored south pole, where deep craters and high mountains create permanently shaded areas that house water ice deposits. American geologist calls it 鈥渢he most valuable piece of real estate in the solar system.鈥�
India鈥檚 evolving space program
The ambitious lunar mission is one of several signs that India鈥檚 space program is transforming. When India fired up its first rocket in 1963, scientists operated from a small church in the south Indian fishing village of Thumba and parts of the spacecraft were ferried to the launch site on bicycles.聽
The early goals of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)聽were more practical: 鈥渢o use space for the common man鈥檚 benefits,鈥� says Professor Subramaniam. That meant having satellites looking back to Earth to predict cyclones or to identify potential fishing zones. But over the past couple of decades, she says, India 鈥渟tarted looking at innovations and looking away from Earth towards space.鈥�
In 2008, India launched its first lunar space probe, Chandrayaan-1, which successfully orbited the moon and mapped water ice and minerals on its surface. Then came the Mars Orbiter Mission, India鈥檚 first interplanetary mission, which successfully entered the red planet鈥檚 orbit in 2014 on its first attempt.聽
This flurry of purely exploratory missions is 鈥渁 natural progression for any maturing space program,鈥� says Dr. Rajagopalan of the Observer Research Foundation, but geopolitics is also at play. Moving forward, she expects national security to play a larger role in shaping India鈥檚 space priorities, particularly regarding China, which has been building up its own defensive space abilities.
鈥淥uter space is no more immune to the kind of politics that plays out on Earth,鈥� she says.
Indian leaders are working to expand the space-related industry as well.
鈥淓ven though India is one of the five top countries doing space, India plays less than 5% role in the global space industry,鈥� says Professor Raychaudhury, the astrophysicist.聽
For decades, exploration was restricted to the state-owned ISRO. In 2020, the government opened it up to the private sector, paving the way for dozens of space-tech startups, some of which have already begun to collaborate with ISRO. And earlier this year, the government announced a to 鈥渆nable, encourage and develop a flourishing commercial presence in space.鈥澛�
And the moon is just the beginning. A Venus mission is in the works, and India is planning to send an astronaut to space. But first, India has eyes on the sun; next month, ISRO will launch Aditya-L1, a spacecraft designed to help puzzle out the mysteries of the solar atmosphere.
