Enlarge / The first view from the Moon’s surface captured by Chandrayaan 3’s Vikram lander, showing the shadow of one of the craft’s landing legs. (credit: ISRO)
A robotic landing craft from India successfully touched down in the southern polar region of the Moon on Wednesday, making the rising space power the fourth nation to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface.
The Vikram lander from India’s Chandrayaan 3 mission landed at approximately 8:33 am EDT (12:33 UTC) after a nail-biting final descent broadcast to the world by India’s space agency.
Confirmation of the successful landing triggered a celebration across India, both inside and outside the mission control center in Bangalore. Chandrayaan 3 ends a 47-year drought in successful lunar landings by any country outside China, which has placed three probes on the Moon’s surface, including one on the lunar far side, since 2013.
Read 26 remaining paragraphs | Comments
