India Makes Historic Landing Near Moon's South Pole
An Anonymous Coward wrote in with a pre-landing story:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-66541956.amp:
India's space agency has released latest images of the Moon as its third lunar mission starts descending towards the little-explored south pole.
The pictures have been taken by Vikram, Chandrayaan-3's lander, which began the last phase of its mission on Thursday.
Vikram, which carries a rover in its belly, is due to land near the south pole on 23 August.
The lander detached from the propulsion module, which carried it close to the Moon, on Thursday.
Now updated with a story about the successful landing: Chandrayaan-3: India makes historic landing near Moon's south pole:
The Vikram lander from Chandrayaan-3 successfully touched down as planned at 18:04 local time (12:34 GMT).
[...] On Wednesday, tense moments preceded the touchdown as the lander - called Vikram after Isro founder Vikram Sarabhai - began its precarious descent, carrying within its belly the 26kg rover named Pragyaan (the Sanskrit word for wisdom).
The lander's speed was gradually reduced from 1.68km per second to almost zero, enabling it to make a soft landing on the lunar surface.
[...] One of the mission's major goals is to hunt for water-based ice which, scientists say, could support human habitation on the Moon in future. It could also be used for supplying propellant for spacecraft headed to Mars and other distant destinations. Scientists say the surface area that remains in permanent shadow there is huge and could hold reserves of water ice.
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