India’s Moon Landing: Small Step or Giant Leap?

Written by Allan Millward | September 10, 2023

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The Republic of India is now the fourth nation in the world to complete an unmanned moon landing. On August 23^rd the Chandrayaan-3 successfully touched down placing India alongside the United States, the People’s Republic of China, and the Soviet Union (today the Russian Federation) as one of the elite few to accomplish such a monumental feat. The elation was palpable throughout the country as more than 8 million tuned in to witness the landing. At India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, children waved Indian flags as the audience lit firecrackers, applauded, and chanted “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” — or “victory to India.” Prime Minister Modi addressed the landing while at the 2023 BRICS summit. He concluded his remarks by explaining that “…this success belongs to all of humanity, and it will help moon missions by other countries in the future.” The landing took on even more symbolic significance after Russia’s Luna 25 crashed on August 19^th.

While the landing is certainly a newfound source of national pride it did not emerge as a surprise to the observant. As far back as 2008 India had launched a probe to orbit the moon, in 2014 India was the first Asian nation to put a craft into orbit around Mars, and on September 2^nd, 2023, mere weeks after the moon landing, India launched Aditya-L1 towards the center of the solar system. Plans are already underway for a three-day Indian crewed mission in the Earth’s orbit by next year. India’s success hinges, at least partially, on its ability to copy and adapt existing technology and its abundance of highly skilled engineers. These advantages allow it to operate a comparatively low-budget space program. India’s moon landing cost less than 75 million in total.