Why It Matters: India landed the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft near the moon's south pole just days after an unmanned Russian spacecraft crashed while headed to the same region. India's feat marks the first time a spacecraft has made it to the the lunar south pole region – a strategic region thought to have ice that could be melted into water to potentially support human settlement in space and be used for making rocket fuel. Did you know? Chandrayaan means "moon craft" in Sanskrit.

Something to Consider: India's Chandrayaan-3 does not have a human crew on board, rather the space lander is expected to spend two weeks conducting experiments, deploying a smaller lunar rover "configured with payloads that would provide data to the scientific community on the properties of lunar soil and rocks, including chemical and elemental compositions" (The AP). The United States plans to launch a crewed mission to the area in 2025, intended to be the "first human mission to the lunar south pole."

Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft lands on moon in 'victory cry' of new India

India becomes the fourth country to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon