Exploring the Moon: A Look at Countries that Have Achieved Successful Lunar Landings

India’s Chandrayaan-3 has successfully landed on the moon, becoming the fourth nation to ever achieve a lunar landing.

Launched in mid-July, the mission undertook several orbits around Earth, gradually accumulating the required velocity for its upcoming expedition. On Wednesday, August 23, 2023 Chandrayaan-3 successfully deployed its Vikram lander and is cargo, the Pragyan rover.

Chandrayaan-3’s landing site is closer to the moon’s South Pole than any other spacecraft in history.

Asides India, other countries that have successfully landed on the moon are USA, Russia and China.

The first successful landing on the moon was the former Soviet Union’s Luna Program in 1959. On February 3, 1966 Luna 9 achieved a soft landing on the moon and became the first spacecraft to transmit photos of the lunar surface back to Earth. Russia achieved the most notable mission with Luna 24, which collected lunar soil samples and returned them to Earth.

The United States of America’s successfully achieved its soft landing in 1966. The first manned mission, known as Apollo 11, landed on the moon on July 20, 1969. USA’s Commander Neil Armstrong and Pilot Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon. USA has the most soft landings in the world, which totals 11 soft landings.

China’s Chang’e 3 lander landed achieved the its lunar landing in 2013, marking the first landing since Russia’s Luna 24 in 1976.

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