[UPDATE] India Successfully Lands Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon

(Photo: R. SATISH BABU/AFP via Getty Images)
People celebrate the successful lunar landing of Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on the south pole of the Moon, in Chennai on August 23, 2023. India became the first nation to successfully land a craft on the Moon's south pole on August 23, the latest milestone in a renewed push for lunar exploration that has drawn in both the world's top space powers and new players.

India has made space history as it became only the fourth nation to land its spacecraft on the Moon after Chandrayaan-3 made a soft landing near its south pole Wednesday (August 23).

The mission also made them the first in the world to safely stick the landing near the Moon's south pole, a feat also attempted by Russia's Luna-25 mission a few days ago but failed.

Scientists have been pushing to explore the lunar south pole as they have speculated the presence of water in its craters there. If the ice was proven to be water, it would help out future human missions to the Moon by extending the stay of astronauts there.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
'India🇮🇳,
I reached my destination
and you too!'
: Chandrayaan-3

Chandrayaan-3 has successfully
soft-landed on the moon 🌖!.

Congratulations, India🇮🇳!#Chandrayaan_3 #Ch3
— ISRO (@isro) August 23, 2023

Minutes after the confirmation of landing, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) posted an alluded message from the lander which hoped to serve as an inspiration to Indians.

"India, I reached my destination, and you too!" the agency wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Indian PM Modi: Chandrayaan-3 a 'Historic Day' for India's Space Industry

Moments after confirming the landing, ISRO chairman Sreedhara Panicker Somanath had a very simple message to say before Modi's remarks.

"India is on the moon," he stated.

In a message to jubilant ISRO scientists, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his country's lunar mission was not just India's success but humanity's as well.

"India's successful moon mission is not just India's alone," he said via video feed as he was in South Africa for the BRICS Summit, he also said the mission was based on a "human-centric" approach.

"This success belongs to all humanity," Modi added, "and it will help Moon missions by other countries in the future."

Modi also expressed his confidence that all countries in the world, especially the Global South, would be able to reach the Moon just like his country did.

The historic event was monitored by all Indians with bated breath, from scientists to students to restaurants to shopkeepers to religious leaders praying for the success of the mission, Al Jazeera reported. Celebrations have soon erupted across the country upon confirmation of the soft landing.

In addition, European Space Agency (ESA) director general Josef Aschbacher has called the landing an "incredible" event.

"What a way to demonstrate new technologies and achieve India's first soft landing on another celestial body," he said. "Well done, I am thoroughly impressed."