India's space ambitions are not limited to the South Pole of the Moon?, Depth | "Moonship 3" successfully landed on the moon | "Moonship 3" | India

On the 23rd local time, the Indian lunar probe Luna 3 successfully landed at the South Pole of the Moon, making India the fourth country to achieve a lunar landing. In response, Indian Prime Minister Modi, who was attending the 15th meeting of BRICS leaders in South Africa, excitedly said, "India is on the moon. India has also reached the South Pole of the moon - no other country has achieved this."

In recent years, India has been making efforts in the field of space, and the successful lunar landing has also given it the potential to join the club of "space powers". However, analysts point out that the political significance of this mission may outweigh the technological significance, and India's space ambitions still face many challenges.

First landing on the South Pole of the Moon

On the evening of the 23rd local time, the lander "Vikram" carried by "Luna 3" achieved a soft landing at the south pole of the moon. This makes India the fourth country, after the Soviet Union, the United States, and China, to achieve a lunar probe landing. Not only that, India is also the first country to achieve a probe landing on the South Pole of the Moon.

After seeing the successful lunar landing of the lander, the whole country of India was overjoyed. Not only did scientists and officials embrace and clap hands with each other, but people from all over India also took to the streets to dance, lighting firecrackers to express their excitement.

Even Modi, who was attending the BRICS Summit in South Africa, took the time to watch the entire live broadcast and delivered a televised speech as soon as possible. He said, "This success belongs to all humanity," and the pace of exploration will not stop at the moon.

On July 14th of this year, the "Lunar 3" was launched into space, carrying the "Vikram" lander, which is about 2 meters high and weighs about 1700 kilograms, including a 26 kilogram lunar exploration vehicle. After launch, the lunar rover "Lungshan-3" experienced a technical malfunction due to orbital deviation, but after multiple orbital changes, it finally successfully entered lunar orbit on August 5th.

According to the Indian space research organization responsible for this lunar exploration mission, the lunar rover "Lunzhou-3" will work on the moon for about two weeks to analyze the soil and rocks on the moon's surface, determine the mineral composition of the moon's surface, and search for the presence of "water ice" at the south pole of the moon.

After more than a decade of twists and turns, India has finally realized its dream of exploring the moon.

In 2008, India successfully launched its first lunar orbiter, the Lunar Ship 1, but the originally planned two-year mission was lost in August 2009. India's second attempt also ended in failure. In July 2019, India launched the Luna 2 spacecraft. In September of that year, its lander attempted a soft landing on the lunar surface but lost contact. Relevant authorities admitted in November that the lander had crashed.

In response to this, Sri Dala Panik Somana, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, hereby stated that India has made improvements to the lunar ship 3 based on the analysis of data related to the lunar ship 2. After the successful landing of the lunar rover "Luncheon 3", he stated that this successful landing has given India confidence in expanding its next exploration range to Mars and Venus. He also stated that India plans to launch a mission to observe the sun in September, and future manned space missions are also planned.

Some Indian and Western media have also praised the successful lunar landing, calling it "India's rise and victory".

The Associated Press reported that this lunar exploration mission demonstrates India's rise as a "modern space power". The US Consumer News and Business Channel stated that India is increasingly seen as a "top player" in space geopolitics.

The directors of NASA and the European Space Agency also congratulated India. Even Russian President Putin sent congratulatory messages to Modi, stating that "this is a big step in space exploration and clearly demonstrates India's impressive progress in science and technology.".

Just a few days before the landing of "Luna 3", the "Luna-25" probe launched by Russia deviated from its intended orbit and collided with the surface of the moon before losing contact. According to previous plans, the Lunar-25 probe was originally scheduled to make a soft landing at the South Pole of the Moon on the 21st, two days earlier than the landing in India.

Why persist in the South Pole of the Moon?

Why is India persistent in its pursuit of the South Pole of the Moon after years of trying and ultimately achieving its goal? What is the scientific significance of this lunar exploration mission?

From a scientific research perspective, analysts believe that the South Pole of the Moon may contain a large amount of water ice and other volatile substances, which can establish a foundation for further research on the Moon and deep space exploration in the future.

Professor Jiao Weixin from the School of Earth and Space Sciences at Peking University stated that due to the small inclination angle of the moon, the sunlight on the south pole of the moon is almost flat, and some permanent shadow areas of the moon's poles may not receive sunlight for billions of years, so there may be abundant water ice and other volatile substances stored. Understanding the composition and distribution of these substances is of great scientific significance for studying the evolution of the moon.

Pang Zhihao, the chief scientific communication expert of national space exploration technology, also believes that water ice can not only support the work and life of astronauts, but also decompose into hydrogen and oxygen, which can be used as launch fuel for spacecraft. Whether establishing a base for lunar exploration or using the moon as a springboard to land on Mars and explore deep space, the presence of water ice is crucial.

From a technical perspective, Pang Zhihao believes that due to the insufficient thrust of the Indian carrier rocket and the lack of a high thrust engine, it is not possible to directly send "Lungshan-3" to the Earth Moon transfer orbit. Instead, it requires multiple orbit changes in both Earth and Moon orbits, which is not very efficient.

However, Pang Zhihao stated that the technical significance of India's mission is mainly reflected in the process of "falling the moon". India has performed well in this landing control, with improved landing brackets and backup landing procedures. It can also perform intelligent landing like China, avoiding obstacles. After overcoming the landing hurdle through countless hardships, India will continue to experience the separation of the lander and the rover, as well as the inspection of the rover.

Jiao Weixin also believes that India has learned from past lessons, improved in technology, and achieved success. However, in this lunar exploration mission, India's main instruments were still provided by the United States and European space agencies, and there was no outstanding performance in terms of payload, and the time spent on the lunar surface was also relatively short. It can be said that India's technology still has a certain gap compared to other countries.

Analysts believe that overall, the political significance of India's lunar exploration may outweigh its technological significance.

Many foreign media have also linked the sunset of "Moon Ship 3" to the upcoming Indian general election next year.

The success of India's lunar exploration mission may boost Modi's approval rating before next year's crucial elections, according to the Associated Press. The New York Times also believes that at an important moment when India is advancing its diplomatic efforts, the success of Moonship 3 will assist it. This confident posture on the world stage will also be the core message of Modi's campaign.

Space ambitions face challenges

India's successful lunar landing once again marks the arrival of the "lunar exploration boom" and the intensification of the space race.

Jiao Weixin stated that currently, many countries around the world plan to explore the moon and there is a clear trend of advancing towards the south pole of the moon.

At present, in addition to the Indian "Moonship" program and the Russian "Moon" series program, the United States' "Artemis" program is also gradually advancing, and it is expected to achieve manned lunar landing as early as 2025, with the landing point also being the South Pole of the Moon. In addition, the "Moon Portal" plan led by the United States to establish a lunar orbital platform is also being promoted.

China has also successfully implemented the missions from Chang'e-1 to Chang'e-5, achieving a successful conclusion to the strategic plan of "orbiting, landing, and returning" for the lunar exploration project. Jiao Weixin stated that the main exploration area of the Chang'e 6 to 8 missions has also been locked in the South Pole of the Moon. The International Lunar Research Station project, which China collaborates with Russia, although its location has not been determined, its general direction will also be towards the South Pole of the Moon.

In addition to the national team, more than a dozen private enterprises, including the American space exploration technology company and Japanese space startup ispace, have also joined this track.

In addition to competing with other participants in the lunar exploration track, India has also turned its attention to other fields. In the past decade, India has gained many benefits in the field of space.

In 2014, the Indian "Mangarian" spacecraft successfully entered Mars orbit, making India the first Asian country to achieve "fire detection". In February 2017, India successfully launched a carrier rocket carrying 104 satellites, breaking the world record previously held by Russia of 37 satellites per rocket.

According to the space program previously announced by the Indian Space Research Organization, India has also started building its first space station. In addition, more lunar exploration plans, manned space programs, and exploration plans for the Sun and Venus have also been included in the agenda.

What are India's advantages in the future space race? What challenges are we facing?

Pang Zhihao stated that India's characteristics in the aerospace field lie in: firstly, doing more with less money. According to Reuters, the launch budget for India's "Moonship 3" is approximately 6.15 billion rupees, even lower than the production cost of the Hollywood movie "Gravity". Secondly, it extensively engages in international cooperation, with the United States, Japan, and Europe as its partners. Thirdly, India attaches great importance to satellite applications, initially focusing on remote sensing and communication satellites, and later developing rockets. Fourthly, Indian space is centrally managed by the Indian Space Research Organization, with high efficiency and concentrated use of funds.

However, the shortcomings of Indian aerospace are also very obvious. Pang Zhihao believes that firstly, India's technology is limited, and the development path of "satellites before rockets" has led to poor quality of its launch vehicles. Secondly, India has great ambition but limited funds. In order to become an Asian aerospace power, India wants to venture into various fields, but it will actually make it inadequate.

Jiao Weixin also believes that currently, India does not have many innovations and breakthroughs in carrier technology, space communication technology, etc., and lacks specific details in its lunar exploration and other space exploration plans. India still has a long way to go to make greater contributions to human space exploration.