NUNZIUM

As the global attention shifts towards space exploration, India's lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, has notably outshined Russia's Luna-25. India has become the fourth nation to land a spacecraft on the moon, following the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China. Remarkably, India is also the pioneer in landing a spacecraft on the lunar south pole, a region rich in scientific interest due to its mineral wealth and water presence.

Founded in 1969, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been progressively advancing its space program. Initially aiming at designing and launching satellites for practical uses such as weather forecasting, flood mitigation, and telecommunications enhancement, ISRO has now achieved a significant milestone with the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3. The landing site, a relatively flat part of the Moon's surface, was captured by the lander's camera, marking a historic moment in India's space exploration journey.

The $75 million Chandrayaan-3 mission, costing less than half of Russia’s Luna-25, has received international acclaim. Figures like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have lauded India's achievement. The rover, Pragyaan, will gather crucial data and images from the landing site, providing tangible evidence for remote measurements and substantiating the existence of water on the Moon.

In contrast, Russia's Luna-25 mission, its first lunar mission in decades, ended in failure after the spacecraft crashed into the moon's surface. The crash followed an interruption in communication with the spacecraft, as reported by Russia's space agency, Roscosmos. The reason for the crash remains unclear with a specially formed commission set to investigate. The Luna-25 mission, launched on August 10 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Amur Oblast, aimed to study the moon's soil composition and the thin lunar exosphere for a year. Its failure is a significant setback for Russia's space program, which has been facing issues for decades.

The successful landing of Chandrayaan-3, juxtaposed with Luna-25's failure, marks a significant turn in the race between India and Russia to land on the moon's south pole. This achievement boosts India's confidence for potential missions to Mars and Venus. ISRO plans to launch a mission to study the sun in September and is preparing for a human space flight in 2024. The exploration of the south pole will contribute to a deeper understanding of lunar geology, particularly the presence of water ice on the moon.

The Chandrayaan-3's success was celebrated across India with firecrackers, dancing, and prayers at various places of worship. The event garnered widespread attention, with nearly 7 million people tuning in to the YouTube live stream. This success in space exploration is a testament to India's scientific and technological progress. As India's space program continues to flourish, the world eagerly awaits the findings of the Chandrayaan-3 mission and future Indian space explorations.