India Is the 1st Country , to Land on the South Pole of the Moon.
India made history on Aug. 23 by becoming the fourth country to land on the moon and the first
to land on the lunar south pole, NBC News reports. .
India's Chandrayaan-3 space lander reached the moon's surface at about 8:34 a.m. ET.
The country's successful landing comes just days after Russia failed a similar mission, crashing its lander, Luna-25, into the moon. .
The south pole of the moon has
intrigued space agencies and scientists for years because its craters are thought to contain more water than other areas on the lunar surface.
Chandrayaan-3 also contains a small rover
which will conduct various experiments such as the testing of "mineral composition and seismic activity," NBC News reports. .
Chandrayaan-3 also contains a small rover
which will conduct various experiments such as the testing of "mineral composition and seismic activity," NBC News reports. .
This was India's second attempt
to land on the lunar south pole.
Its previous lander, Chandrayaan-2,
met the same fate as Russia's Luna-25.
NASA's Artemis III mission is scheduled to land on the moon's south pole in 2025, NBC News reports. .
Only three other countries have ever completed "soft" lunar landings.
They are China, the former
Soviet Union and the U.S