India Awaits Chadrayaan-3's Moon Landing Days After Russia’s Luna-25 Crash

ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft will attempt to land on the lunar south pole at about 6:04 pm local time (12:34 pm GMT) on Wednesday.

By Reuters | Updated: 23 August 2023 13:13 IST

India Awaits Chadrayaan-3's Moon Landing Days After Russia’s Luna-25 Crash

Photo Credit: Reuters

Chandrayaan means "moon vehicle" in Hindi and Sanskrit

Highlights

Anticipation and excitement for the landing was feverish Wednesday
Prayers were held in temples, mosques and churches in the country
PM Narendra Modi will watch the landing from South Africa

India will make its second attempt to land on the moon on Wednesday, a mission seen as crucial to lunar exploration and the country's standing as a space power, just days after a similar Russian lander crashed.

The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft will attempt to land on the lunar south pole at about 6:04 pm local time (12:34 pm GMT) on Wednesday, less than a week after Russia's Luna-25 mission failed.

India's mission - Chandrayaan means "moon vehicle" in Hindi and Sanskrit - is its second attempt to land there. In 2019, ISRO's Chandrayaan-2 mission successfully deployed an orbiter but its lander crashed.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

"Landing on the south pole (of the moon) would actually allow India to explore if there is water ice on the moon. And this is very important for cumulative data and science on the geology of the moon," said Carla Filotico, a partner and managing director at consultancy SpaceTec Partners.

Anticipation and excitement for the landing were feverish Wednesday, with banner headlines across newspapers, and news channels running countdown timers to the landing.

Prayers were held in temples, mosques and churches in the country, and schoolchildren waved the Indian tricolour as they waited for live screenings of the landing.

ISRO May Postpone Chandrayaan-3 Lunar Touchdown Based on These Factors

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will watch the landing from South Africa, where he is attending the ongoing BRICS summit, media reported.

Rough terrain makes a south pole landing difficult, and a first landing would be historic. The region's water ice could supply fuel, oxygen and drinking water for future missions.

For India, a successful moon landing would mark its emergence as a space power as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government looks to spur investment in private space launches and related satellite-based businesses.

Chandrayaan-3’s Lander Camera Captures New Pictures of the Moon: See Here

Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices and more on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a press release)

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.