India could make history today as the world’s most populous country is preparing for its second attempted moon landing.
Chandrayaan-3, which means “mooncraft” in Sanskrit, is scheduled to land near the lunar south pole, about which little is known, at 1.34pm BST (5.34pm Indian time).
Former Indian space chief K Sivan said the latest photos transmitted back by the lander gave every indication the final leg of the space trip would succeed and the landing mission would be completed “without any problem”.
If successful, Chandrayaan-3 would shed light on the lesser-known side of the moon where NASA and other space agencies believe to have detected frozen water.
If the spaceship, which was launched nearly six weeks ago from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, was able to confirm these reports, it would provide incredible insight into past lunar volcanoes and the origins of our own oceans.
By finding water ice India would confirm a new source of fuel, oxygen and drinking water.
The mission being attempted by India today is extremely difficult, as proven by the Russian lunar failure on the weekend, when Moscow’s unmanned robot lander crashed onto Earth’s satellite.
Only the US, China and the Soviet Union have so far been able to land on the moon, with India failing a similar attempt in 2019. Then, the lander and rover on Chandrayaan-2 crashed near its proposed site.
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