Why ISRO chose South Pole of the moon for Chandrayaan-3's landing, S Somanath explains

As India along with the rest of the world joins the celebration of India's feat in creating a history of landing on the moon's surface, many are also questioning what made ISRO choose the Vikram lander to land on the South Pole of the moon.

ISRO chief S Somanath on why ISRO chose the South Pole of the moon for Chandrayaan-3's landing; says, "We have gone closer to the South Pole which is 70 degrees almost. The South Pole has a specific advantage with respect to being less illuminated by the sun. There is a potential because of to have more scientific content...Scientists who are working on the moon showed a lot of interest in the South Pole because ultimately human beings want to go and create colonies and then travel beyond. So the best place is something we are looking for & the South Pole has the potential to be that..."

Speaking on on Aditya L-1 and Gaganyaan mission, the ISRO chief said, "Aditya mission to the Sun & it is getting ready for launch in September. Gaganyaan is still a work in progress. We will do a mission possibly by the end of September or October to demonstrate the crew module & crew escape capability which will be followed by many test missions until we do the first manned mission possibly by 2025."

'Pragyan' rover has rolled out from 'Vikram' lander said ISRO on Thursday morning, August 24.

Also Read: Chandrayaan-3: Rover Pragyan rolls out of Vikram lander; ISRO says 'India took a walk on the moon'

The Indian Space Research Organisation asserted India took a walk on the Moon moments after the rover touched the surface of the south pole of the Moon.

"Chandrayaan-3 ROVER: Made in India, Made for the MOON! The Ch-3 Rover ramped down from the Lander and India took a walk on the moon! More updates soon" posted ISRO on X, formerly Twitter.

"First photo of Rover coming out of the lander on the ramp", posted Pawan K Goenka, Chairman of INSPACe on X.

The development comes hours after Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander made a successful soft landing on the south pole of the Moon creating history. 

Soon after the Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed on the moon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in South Africa, dialled the space agency chief S Somnath and congratulated him and his team.