India becomes first nation to land spacecraft near Moon's south pole
Screen grab taken and received from the live feed of Indian Space Research Organisation website shows the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft seconds before its successful lunar landing on the south pole of the Moon on August 23, 2023. PHOTO | AFP
India on Wednesday became the first nation to land a craft near the Moon's south pole, a historic triumph for the world's most populous nation and its ambitious, cut-price space programme.
The unmanned Chandrayaan-3, which means "Mooncraft" in Sanskrit, touched down at 6:04 pm India time (1234 GMT) as mission control technicians cheered wildly and embraced their colleagues.
