India has achieved history by landing near the lunar South Pole — and only the fourth country to conduct a successful soft landing on the moon.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission accomplished the feat in the early evening local time on Wednesday, after its Vikram lander module successfully landed on the lunar surface. Engineers from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) are now ensuring that Vikram's systems are operational.
The final seconds of the lander's descent were live-streamed from Mission Control in Bengaluru, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi watching events unfold. The mission's concluding moments can be seen in the video below.
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"India is now on the moon," Modi declared shortly after the mission's successful landing, adding that the mission's success "belongs to all of humanity" and was "not just India's alone."
Only the United States, China, and the erstwhile Soviet Union have succeeded in accomplishing a soft landing on the surface of our nearest neighbor. Russia failed in a recent attempt, while India failed in a previous attempt four years ago.
The lunar South Pole is of tremendous scientific interest because it is thought to contain water ice, an important resource that could enable future crewed moon missions. NASA is also preparing a future mission to explore the region.
As the Indian nation rejoices