India lands on the moon - 30th August 2023

On 23rd August 2023, Indian scientists put a spaceship on the moon. People in India are happy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the scientists.

Narendra Modi: "Friends, science and technology are the basis of our prosperous nation, and this day will be remembered forever for this achievement. This day will inspire us all to move towards a bright future."

The spaceship's name is Chandrayaan-3. India's the fourth country to land on the moon. But it's the first to go to the moon's south pole. P Veeramuthuvel is the director for Chandrayaan-3.

P Veeramuthuvel: "The entire mission operations, right from launch till landing, happened flawlessly as per the timeline. And, we became the fourth country to land, to demonstrate the soft landing onto the moon's surface and we became the first country to go to the near to the south pole of the moon."

The engines on Chandrayaan-3 aren't very powerful. The US Apollo engines in the 1960s and 70s were more powerful. Chandrayaan-3 had to go around the Earth several times. Then, it travelled for a month to the moon.

Chandrayaan-3 carried a robot. Its name is Vikram. Vikram will drive around the moon's south pole for two months. It'll take photos. It uses solar energy.

It cost $72.6 million to go to the moon. Next time, India wants to send scientists. But for now, people are celebrating Chandrayaan-3's landing.

Sreedhara Somanath's the head of the Indian Space Research Organisation.

Sreedhara Somanath: "And I want to thank you also for each and every one who prayed with us in the last many days, who wanted this success to happen in ISRO. I thank all those people in, all around the country, and maybe beyond the country, for their blessings and wishes and affection that they have given to each one of us for doing this work for the last so many years."