--- title: "India Releases First Ever Rover on Moon’s South Pole" description: "India is making history in huge ways as it joins the small list of countries to go to the Moon and becomes the first on the lunar south pole." date: "2023-08-25" modified: "2023-08-25" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/india-rover-moon-south-pole" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "Space" tags: - "chandrayaan-3" - "india" - "lunar mission" - "the digest" --- # India Releases First Ever Rover on Moon’s South Pole ![India is making history in huge ways as it joins the small list of countries to go to the Moon and becomes the first on the lunar south pole.]() *Digital generated image of earth rising.Maps used for the octane render(https://visibleearth.nasa.gov/images/57752/blue-marble-land-surface-shallow-water-and-shaded-topography) \Image: Getty Images\* ## Moonar India is making space history in big ways. As the [*BBC* reports](), the landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission's Pragyan rover marks multiple milestones for India as it [joins the elite league of countries]() to land a spacecraft on the Moon — and becomes the first to explore an otherwise untouched part of the lunar surface in the process. In a striking display of off-world traffic drama, [Russia dramatically tried and failed]() to reach the Moon's unexplored southern pole, where Chandrayaan-3 has now successfully landed, in its first attempt to land on the Moon in nearly 50 years. Tantalizingly, the region may well contain water ice and other interesting phenomena that India could be first to observe. ## Soft Boys The success of the Chandrayaan-3 landing also sees India advancing from its own failed attempt to reach the Moon back in 2019, when the lander it launched during the [Chandrayaan-2 mission crashed]() on the lunar surface. Additionally, the country launched its first lunar mission (named, you guessed it, Chandrayaan-1) back in 2008, though as the [*Washington Post* notes](), that mission — which was important to the discovery of lunar water molecules — involved an "impact probe" rather than a soft landing. In a press conference, S. Somanth, the chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation, said Chandrayaan-3's soft landing had gone exactly as planned. "Both the Lander and Rover are perfectly healthy and everything is working very well," Somanth told the press, [per the *Hindustan Times*](). "There will be further movements." Here on Earth, the success of the Chandrayaan-3 landing broke another record as well, as an [estimated seven]() to [nine million]() people watched it live, making it the most-watched livestream in YouTube history. Whichever way you cut it, India clearly has a lot to be proud of with this successful lander launch — and given the region the Pragayan rover is exploring, it may well have more to celebrate soon. **More on lunar launches:** [*Russia Sends Back Photos From Trip to Moon*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()