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India landed a robotic spacecraft on the moon Wednesday, a feat that came just
days after a Russian vehicle crashed into the surface after firing its thrusters
for too long.

India’s spacecraft, without any astronauts on board, landed at about 8:30 a.m.
Eastern time near the moon’s south pole, an area that several nations covet
because it contains water in the form of ice in permanently shadowed craters.

Shortly after the lander touched down, the Indian space agency released a photo
of the lunar surface taken from the craft but did not provide details about the
health of the vehicle. Indian news reports indicated that a rover the vehicle
carried had been deployed, but there was no official confirmation of that or
whether the rover was operating normally. Plans call for it to operate for about
14 days to study the composition of the moon’s soil and rocks.

Still, the successful touchdown of the Chandrayaan-3 mission was a triumph for a
country with growing ambitions in space and was cheered across the nation of
more than 1 billion people. India became the fourth country to land successfully
on the moon, after the United States, the Soviet Union and China, and it became
the first to touch down near the south pole. In 2019, a similar mission failed
at the last minute because of a software issue. But the mission did successfully
put a spacecraft in orbit around the moon that has been mapping the lunar
surface in the years since.

“India is on the moon,” declared Sreedhara Somanath, head of the India Space
Research Organization, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi watched while waving an
Indian flag.




Speaking by video link from South Africa, where he is attending a summit of the
BRICS nations, Modi told cheering staffers and reporters at ISRO headquarters
that India was entering a historically auspicious moment. “My dear family, when
we see history being made in front of us, it makes our life blessed,” he said.
“This moment is the announcement of an advanced India. These moments are of
invention and phenomenal growth. … We had taken a pledge on Earth and realized
it on the moon.”

“This success belongs to all of humanity and it will help more missions by other
countries in the future,” Modi added.




The mission is one of several destined for the lunar surface. Japan is scheduled
to launch a small spacecraft to the moon later this week to test its ability to
land precisely, a capability that would benefit future missions. And later this
year, two private American companies, working under contract with NASA, are also
scheduled to fly robotic spacecraft to the lunar surface as part of the space
agency’s Artemis program.




Ultimately, NASA intends to return humans to the moon for the first time since
the last of the Apollo missions in 1972. The goal this time is to establish an
enduring presence on and around the moon and to use the resources of the moon to
help sustain human life. NASA also intends to assemble a small space station,
called Gateway, around the moon to support the effort.

Modi has sought to bolster the India’s space agency as a symbol of the country’s
stature on the global stage. Its space program is being used as a way to boost
its economy and growing tech sector, analysts say. It has also sought to keep up
with China, which has big ambitions in space and has already landed on the moon.
India has also flexed its military space capabilities; in 2019, it hit a
satellite with a missile, demonstrating its ability to target adversaries’ space
assets.




Unlike rivals such as China and Russia, India has aligned itself with the United
States by signing an agreement on space exploration, known as the Artemis
Accords, a legal framework that governs activity in space. So far, nearly 30
countries have signed, allowing them to partner with the United States on space
missions and mandating that they adhere to a set of rules, such as publicly
sharing scientific discoveries and creating “safety zones” where nations could
work undisturbed on the lunar surface.



In an interview after the landing, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called it “a
significant accomplishment,” and said that “we congratulate them and we consider
them our partner.”

During a signing ceremony in June, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India’s ambassador to
the United States, said: “India is a responsible space power and places the
highest importance on the peaceful and sustainable use of outer space. We are
confident that the Artemis Accords will advance a rule-based approach to outer
space.”

After the failed landing effort in 2019, Modi vowed the country would not give
up. “We came very close,” he said. “Our determination to touch the moon has
become even stronger.”

The United States has also cast itself in a space race with China, which has
plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2030. NASA has scheduled its first human
landing, known as the Artemis III mission, for 2025, but recently NASA officials
have said it would likely slip into 2026. If the schedule continues to slip, Jim
Free, NASA’s associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development
Mission Directorate, said earlier this month that NASA could “end up flying a
different mission.”

That might mean a trip around the moon without a landing, but he did not offer
specifics. Nelson said in the interview that, “NASA, as always, looks at all
contingencies. But the plan is Artemis III is going to land.”

Congress has been supportive of the Artemis program, protecting funding for the
missions even as it cut other parts of the agency’s budget. A competition with
China could spur some to push NASA to move fast and help ensure it has adequate
funding.

NASA is still on track to launch four astronauts on a mission around the moon by
the end of 2024. That mission, known as Artemis II, followed a successful flight
of the Orion spacecraft, without any people on board, around the moon last year.

The possibility that water can be found near the lunar south pole has intrigued
space agencies and scientists around the world who are eager to harvest it.
Water obviously is vital for human survival and would be an important component
for any lunar settlement. But broken into its component parts, hydrogen and
oxygen, it could also be used as rocket fuel.

Nelson said he was not concerned that India got to the south pole before the
United States. “Space is international, and NASA has embraced that with gusto,”
he said. “That’s why we go back to the moon with an international mission.”

Engineers at ISRO worked to make a more robust design for the Chandrayaan-3
flight. It launched on July 14 and flew to lunar orbit without any trouble.

“The mission is on schedule,” the agency tweeted on Tuesday. “Systems are
undergoing regular checks. Smooth sailing is continuing.”

Gerry Shih contributed to this report.


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