Chandrayaan-3: Google Doodle celebrates as India scripts history, becomes first country to land on Moon’s south pole

The Google Doodle for today honours the first-ever landing on the south pole of the moon. India becomes the first and only country to land on Moon’s South Pole.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was launched on July 14, 2023, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota Range, Andhra Pradesh, India, and successfully landed on August 23, 2023, close to the lunar south pole. 

Moon landings are a difficult task. Only the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union have successfully accomplished soft landings on the moon before, but no nation has previously reached the southern pole region. India not only became the 4th country to reach the moon but also the first country to land on the Moon's south pole. 

Since space travellers feared there might be ice deposits inside permanently shadowed craters, the south pole of the moon has drawn more attention than usual. Now that Chandrayaan-3 has arrived, this prediction has come true!

Future astronauts may be able to access essential resources from this ice, including oxygen, water, and possibly hydrogen rocket fuel. 

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) stating, "The success belongs to all of humanity… It will help moon missions by other countries in the future. I'm confident that all countries in the world can aspire for the moon and beyond. The sky is not the limit!”