India beats Russia and the United States to conquering the Moon’s south pole

It is done: on Wednesday August 23, 2023, India became the fourth country to reach the Moon, the natural satellite of the Earth and the fifth largest in the entire solar system. Just days after Russia’s failed attempt, the Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully landed at the south pole, so the mission started on July 23 by the Indian Space Research Organization has concluded successfully.

This is a historic event for the space race, as after an unsuccessful attempt in 2019, India joins the United States, China, and Russia (through the Soviet Union) as the only countries that had previously achieved it. The objective of the mission is nothing else than to investigate fundamental elements such as the mineral composition of the Moon, the presence of water masses and analyze its seismic activity. Below we offer you the complete broadcast (shared by Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India), in which you can see the joy of the members of the agency when learning about the results of the mission.

Artemis and the return of humans to the Moon

The Artemis program at NASA has several missions planned for the next few years in which one of its objectives is to return to bring several people to the Moon. If all goes according to plan, the Artemis 2 mission will take place in 2024 and a manned spacecraft will explore from the satellite’s orbit. But what has generated the most expectation is, without a doubt, the Artemis 3 mission, since the main objective will be to land on the lunar surface, as was once achieved in 1969.

By the way, we remind you that soon you can enjoy NASA+, a free application in which the National Aeronautics and Space Administration invites us to watch documentaries, programs, and even the missions themselves from home, on our television, mobile, or other devices completely free of charge. You can learn more through this link