India lands on Moon, triggers debate on global space race :::: Forget SICKULARISM !! Foreign media hail Chandrayan-3

India's Chandrayaan-3 mission is set to begin exploring an area of the moon that has yet to be visited and has water ice that could be a resource for future missions. 

- says 'The New York Times' 

"India’s aim to land on moon’s south pole signals ambition to join global space race" -- says 'South China Morning Post' 

That's a pretty two sensational headlines :

India becomes first nation to land spacecraft near Moon’s south pole, - says French agency AFP 

'Indian Express' too is highly encouraging and appreciable: 

"India scripts history as Chandrayaan-3 lands on Moon’s south pole; rover to come out soon"   

'The Guardian' Science Editor Ian Sample, says :

"The global space launch market is expected to grow from $9bn (£7bn) this year to more than $20bn in 2030. Beyond satellite launches, big space agencies including Nasa, the European Space Agency, Russia and China are gearing up ...There will be a place for many countries in going back to the moon.”

Chandrayaan 3: 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' echoes in ISRO HQ in Bengaluru, says 'Hindustan Times' 

Another foreign agency says, "Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft lands on the moon in 'victory cry of a new India'.."

AFP story also appears in Pakistan's leading newspaper, 'Dawn', says -- 

"India on Wednesday became the first nation to land a craft near the Moon’s south pole, a historic triumph for the world’s most populous nation and its ambitious, cut-price space programme.

The unmanned Chandrayaan-3, which means “Mooncraft” in Sanskrit, touched down at 6:04pm India time (1234 GMT) as mission control technicians cheered wildly and embraced their colleagues.

Reuters story also quotes Russian President Vladimir Putin's message congratulating India.

In fact, Putin congratulated India in a message to PM Modi published on the 'Kremlin' website.

"This is a big step forward in space exploration and of course a testament to the impressive progress made by India in the field of science and technology," said the Russian leader who stayed away from BRICS Summit but participated virtually.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson congratulating the ISRO on the landing has also been quoted:

"And congratulations to India on being the 4th country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon," he said on X, formerly Twitter. "We’re glad to be your partner on this mission!"

BBC story says : 

India makes historic landing near Moon's south pole  

Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chief Sreedhara Panicker Somanath said the successful landing "is not our work alone, this is the work of a generation of Isro scientists".

India's achievement comes just days after Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft spun out of control and crashed into the Moon.

The crash also put the spotlight on how difficult it is to land in the south pole region where the surface is "very uneven" and "full of craters and boulders". India's second lunar mission, which also attempted to soft-land there in 2019, was unsuccessful - its lander and rover were destroyed, though its orbiter survived, notes BBC. Chandrayaan-3: 

'Historic India Moon mission sends new photos of lunar surface', says another BBC story

India is the first country to perform a controlled "soft landing" near Moon's  south pole.

India has also become only the fourth to achieve a soft landing on the Moon after the US, the former Soviet Union (USSR) and China. 

'Analysis' piece in London-based 'The Guardian' carries a scintillating  headline, ---- 

"India’s south pole moon landing is big business for global space race"  

"For all the risks, for all that was riding on a successful landing, the descent to the moon’s surface was remarkably uneventful, if not exactly stress-free. The Vikram lander, part of India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission, dropped steadily on its thrusters to the rock below, slowed to a hover as it approached the ground, and finally came to a rest on the dusty terrain.

When confirmation came that the lander was down, anxiety in the control room gave way to cheers and applause. " -- goes the piece. 

The article by Science Editor Ian Sample, also says --

“Knowing that it can be done doesn’t make it easy,” said Prof Martin Barstow, director of strategic partnerships at Space Park Leicester. 

“Landing at the poles is much more difficult than landing at the equator. You’ve got to get into a polar orbit to release the lander and nobody has done that before. The US hasn’t landed anything at the poles on the moon.”

There is more to the achievement than the technical feat. 

The landing boosts the prestige of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) less than a week after a Russian probe spun out of control and crashed into the moon’s surface. 

The ill-fated Luna-25 mission was Russia’s first attempt to land on the moon in 47 years.

“This is an exciting moment for Indian space exploration,” said Prof Andrew Coates at UCL’s Mullard space science laboratory.  

The article also says, the global space launch market is expected to grow from $9bn (£7bn) this year to more than $20bn in 2030. 

Beyond satellite launches, big space agencies including Nasa, the European Space Agency, Russia and China are gearing up for a return to the moon, a long-term commitment that involves building a moon-orbiting space station and lunar habitats for astronauts to live in. 

“There’s so much that needs to be done that no one country can do it all,” said Barstow. “There will be a place for many countries in going back to the moon.”