By Manoj Motwani
This successful arrival makes India the first nation to reach the south pole of the moon and only the fourth nation, after the United States, the Soviet Union, and China, to accomplish a lunar landing. This audacious space expedition is significant from multiple vantage points, as it exemplifies the strength of her ancient indigenous knowledge system in the realm of space exploration and demonstrates that it is both a dominant force and a thriving industry. Given that India's space voyage began in 1975 with the launch of Aryabhata using a Soviet rocket from a foreign launchpad, this demonstrates the significant progress. The remarkable achievements of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) eloquently demonstrate the power of conviction. Moreover, Chandrayaan-3 landed closer to the moon's south pole than any other spacecraft in history. Scientists believe that the South Pole region contains water ice deposits, making it a region of significant scientific and strategic interest for spacefaring nations.
India as a nation derives its strength from its profoundly rooted values and beliefs. India's audacious and ambitious endeavours in fields such as technology, space exploration, and economic development reflect its growing confidence in its capabilities over time. With missions like Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan, India has defied the odds and proven its worth. These missions are not only scientific achievements, but also symbolic representations of the nation's unwavering faith in its capacity to be a world leader in space exploration.
This very indomitable character of contemporary India is also evident in the economic trajectory of the nation. India has emerged as one of the world's fastest-growing economies, due to its resilience, entrepreneurial spirit, and enormous consumer market, despite facing numerous obstacles. This economic vitality is evidence of the nation's resolve and confidence in its abilities.
India's transformation is characterised by a resolve to capitalise on its assets, a willingness to confront challenges head-on, and an unwavering confidence in its abilities. This spirit is responsible for shaping the modern India we see today, a nation poised for growth and prepared to carve out its position in the global landscape.
While congratulating the ISRO scientists and experts on their accomplishment, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the successful Chandrayaan-3 mission as a "historic and unforgettable" event that has placed India in a special position.
“When we witness such history being created before our eyes, our life is blessed. Such events become forever memorable for a nation. This is an unforgettable, unprecedented moment. This moment is the victory cry of a developed India, it is the triumph of the New India. This moment is about crossing the ocean of difficulties, about walking on the path of victory,” Modi said in a video address from Johannesburg, while attending the BRICS summit.
The PM described it as a moment of “new trust, new confidence and a new awakening” in India, and one that establishes the country’s rise. “We took a pledge on earth and fulfilled it on the moon. Our scientists also said India is now on the moon. Today we have become witness to a new flight of a New India.”
India's core philosophy of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam," a Sanskrit phrase that translates to "The world is one family." This principle has been a guiding force in India's approach to its international engagements and achievements. When India proclaims that its success is not its own but belongs to the world, it is expressing a sense of global responsibility and mutual interdependence. India's advancements in the field of space exploration are not seen as standalone national achievements. Instead, they are viewed as contributions to global scientific knowledge and understanding. And this reflects very well in the congratulatory message given to the Nation by Prime Minister Modi.
“On this joyous occasion, I would like to address all the people of the world, country and region. India’s successful moon mission is not just India’s alone. This is a year in which the world is witnessing India’s G20 presidency. Our approach of One Earth, One Family, One Future is resonating across the globe. This human-centric approach that we present and represent has been welcomed universally. Our moon mission is based on the same human-centric approach. Therefore, this success belongs to all of humanity. It will help moon missions by other countries,” Modi said.
Mainstream newspapers from the west, many of which had been skeptical of India's space mission and had occasionally in the past even made jokes about it in cartoons, acknowledged India's tremendous accomplishment.
“The Chandrayaan-3 mission makes India the first country to reach the lunar south polar region in one piece and adds to the achievements of the country’s homegrown space programme,” The New York Times reported.
“It is a marvellous achievement for India’s space programme – and symbolic of an important moment in geopolitics. For the successful landing came just days after a Russian mission to the same region went haywire and smashed into the lunar surface like a hammer coming down on the last nail in the coffin of Russia’s decline,” wrote David Von Drehle of The Washington Post.
“'India Is on the Moon’: Chandrayaan-3 Spacecraft Lands on Lunar South Pole,” wrote The Wall Street Journal.
“This is a massive moment for India – and it bumps them up the space superpower list,” Rebecca Morelle, BBC’s science editor wrote.
“The mission could cement India’s status as a global superpower in space. Previously, only the United States, China and the former Soviet Union have completed soft landings on the lunar surface,” CNN said in the article ‘India becomes the fourth country ever to land a spacecraft on the moon’.
India is only the fourth country to pull off a controlled landing on the surface, after the US, China and the former Soviet Union. That India chose one of the moon’s poles as its destination – a tougher prospect than landing near the equator – makes the success that much sweeter, Ian Sample, The Science Editor of The Guardian newspaper wrote in the article headlined ‘India’s south pole moon landing is big business for global space race’. “Landing at the poles is much more difficult than landing at the equator. You’ve got to get into a polar orbit to release the lander, and nobody has done that before. The US hasn’t landed anything at the poles on the moon,” he said.
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