India first country to successfully land spacecraft on moon's south pole

After a 40-day journey starting from the Sathish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 mission has landed successfully. The Chandrayaan 3's Vikram lander should made a soft lunar landing at 6.04 PM IST on August 23.

India becomes first country to successfully land spacecraft on moon's south pole
The country becomes the fourth to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon, but is the first to touch down on the relatively unexplored lunar south pole.

Chandrayaan-3 had aimed to become the first spacecraft to touch down in a region of the lunar surface thought to contain deep craters with water ice.

It touched down six weeks after launching on board a rocket from a spaceport in Andhra Pradesh.

The successful landing was met with cheers and applause from mission control at Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

Making a triumphant speech to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), he said: "This is the heartbeat of 1.4 billion people. This is the new India, the new beginning, the new thinking of the new efforts.

Following the successful landing, Chandrayaan-3 will only remain functional for two weeks, during which it will run a series of experiments to determine the mineral composition of the moon's surface.

Much of the work will be done by a rover, which will be deployed by the spacecraft's two-metre-high lander.

Scientists have a particular interest in water ice, as it could be used for fuel, oxygen, and drinking water - with the mission laying the groundwork for a potential permanent base.