India takes stunning pictures of the moon
The mission marks India as a new global superpower in space.
India has become the fourth country to successfully land on the moon with its Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft. The mission marks the country as a new global superpower in space. Previously, only the United States, China and the former Soviet Union have completed full landings on the lunar surface.
The spacecraft landed at the closest point to the moon's south pole, a place no other spacecraft in history had ever reached. The region is of scientific and strategic interest to spacefaring nations, as researchers and scientists believe the region has deposits of water ice.
Chandrayaan, meaning "lunar vehicle" in Sanskrit, was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, on July 14.