India's rover sends mission's first photos from moon's south pole

Clyde Hughes
Thu, August 24, 2023 

A simulated image is played on screen during live telecast of the landing of Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on the south pole of the Moon at the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) center in Bengaluru on Wednesday. India's rover rolled on the moon's surface on Thursday. Photo courtesy of Indian Space Research Organization

Aug. 24 (UPI) -- India took another step in solidifying its historic status on the moon's south pole, sharing the Chandrayaan-3 mission's first photos of the surface.

The 57-pound Pragyaan rover slid down a ramp deployed by the Vikram lander Wednesday and will now start its scientific work of roaming around rocks and material and analyzing them for researchers back on Earth. Researchers believe water trapped within rocks could be the key to permanent human settlement on the moon.

"The Ch-3 Rover ramped down from the Lander and India took a walk on the moon!" The Indian Space Research Organization said on X.

The country celebrated Wednesday after the lander touched down on the south pole of the moon, making India the first country to do so and only one of four countries to ever make a soft landing anywhere on the satellite, joining the United States, the former Soviet Union and China.

Chandrayaan-3 was India's second attempt at landing on the moon. The lander from Chandrayaan-2 crashed into the moon due to a software glitch. Chandrayaan-2 continues to orbit the moon.

Russia nearly became the first country to make a soft landing on the south pole, but its lander lost control and crashed just days before India made its successful landing on Wednesday.