India lands on the moon, cheers erupt as Chandrayaan-3 touches Down

India is the fourth country to land on the moon with the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3.

Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed on the moon Wednesday, etching India into history as the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the lunar surface. The Indian Space Research Organization launched Chandrayaan-3 over a month ago with the goal landing near the lunar south pole, where it made a soft landing about 8:33 a.m. ET Wednesday morning.

The mission marks the first landing of any country near the south pole and the first lunar landing for India. With the landing, India became the fourth country − after the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China − to achieve the feat.