What does India’s success in Chandrayaan-3 signify?

India’s lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 has made a successful soft landing on the South Pole of the Moon on August 24 at 6:04 PM as per Indian Standard Time. With this India has become the fourth country in the world to land on the Moon after Russia, the United States and China. However, India’s feat is special since India became the first ever country to land on the South Pole of the Moon.  

Launched more than a month ago on July 14, this is India’s third mission to the Moon. Chandrayaan-3 was launched from Sriharikota, an island in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The mission is launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), India’s space agency.

Chandrayaan means lunar spacecraft, where Chandra means the Moon and yaan means spacecraft. Its Lander is named Vikram after Vikram Sarabhai, an Indian physicist considered as the Father of Indian Space Program. The name Vikram means one who is valorous. The Rover is named Pragyaan which means knowledge in Sanskrit.  

What makes the success of Chandrayaan-3 is that it is coming on the back of failure of Chandrayaan-2, the lunar mission launched in 2019 which failed to achieve soft landing on the South Pole of the Moon which is a difficult site to land. Despite the setback, ISRO went ahead with the same mission as that of Chandrayaan-2, when it could have chosen a relatively easier spot to land.  

Chandrayaan-3’s objectives are: to demonstrate soft landing on the Moon, demonstrate Rover roving on the Moon and to conduct scientific experiments.  

Further, Pragyaan will look for the presence of ice or water and if there any mineral deposits as well. The South Pole of the Moon remains a highly unexplored region in space. Any indication of water or minerals will be a breakthrough not just for India but also for the overall global space exploration.  

India’s lunar mission is significant from several aspects.  

Firstly, this mission has diversified India’s space program. While India has previously carried out two lunar missions and one Mars mission (Mangalyaan), Chandrayaan-3 stands out since it has made an actual landing. India has had a prolific space record and has expertise in satellite launching. For years, India has launched not only its own satellites but has also launched satellites of other countries.  

Secondly, in continuation of the previous point, India has been collaborating with a number of countries in space domain. Landing on the Moon raises India’s space profile in the world. India’s success could lead to more countries collaborating with India. India has been displaying its potential in the area of space technology. The landing on the Moon is a step further where India has now actually translated its potential into results.  

Thirdly, the success of Chandrayaan-3 would be a boost to India’s first manned space mission named Gaganyaan. According to the ISRO, Gaganyaan project envisages demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching crew of 3 members to an orbit of 400 km for a 3-day mission and bring them back safely to the Earth, by landing in Indian sea waters.    

Fourthly, cost-effectiveness is also a unique and important feature of India’s space programs. Following table shows space budget of different countries for the year 2022.

Among various countries that are active in space domain, India’s budget is the lowest. A popular discourse is that India’s space budget is compared to popular space-genre movies of Hollywood. Movies like Gravity, Interstellar and The Martian were made with a lavish budget as compared to the funds allotted to the ISRO for their space missions. Chandrayaan-3 has cost around $75 million. While collaborations with other countries would enable India to participate in more advanced missions, India has displayed resourcefulness despite budgetary constraints.  

Fifthly, India is unique in a sense that it is a part of the Global South but is also rapidly making progress economically. At present India is the fifth largest economy in the world. But India has not lost its focus on the Global South. India is an important voice for the countries with limited resources. It is pertinent to note that Chandrayaan-3’s success has coincided with the BRICS Summit which is underway in South Africa. BRICS is considered to a forum of Global South. India’s success would attract more collaborators from the developing world.   

Sixthly, with geopolitical rivalry of the earth reaching space, India stands out as a nation that has benign priorities. India’s space endeavors have mostly been in the field of satellite technology which deals with communication, climate and agriculture. India’s presence in the comity of nations in space could bring greater benefits to the lesser developed countries.  

Seventhly, landing on the South Pole of the Moon opens the possibility for further space exploration. There is a possibility of the Moon becoming a base for the countries to send space missions to other planets. Chandrayaan-3’s findings would be very important from this point of view.  

Chandrayaan-3’s success is a major milestone and an important step forward for India’s space program as well as global standing. As ISRO states, there is a long list of missions after Chandrayaan-3. Hopefully, India would continue with its successful space journey in future as well.