India becomes first nation to land spacecraft near Moon south pole

India becomes first nation to land spacecraft near Moon south pole

BENGALURU, India: India on Wednesday became the first nation to land a craft near the Moon south pole, a historic triumph for the world 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.
Its landing comes days after a Russian probe crashed in the same region and four years since the previous Indian attempt failed at the last moment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi smiled broadly and waved an Indian flag on a live broadcast to announce the mission success as a triumph that extended beyond his country borders.