The moon landing achievement by India casts an unsettling spotlight on the shortcomings of Russia.

India’s successful moon landing highlights Russia’s inadequacies, bringing them into a discomforting focus.

Nations engage in civil space programs for various reasons, ranging from advancing scientific and technological efforts to expanding their technical workforce and motivating the younger generation. Yet, the predominant driver, dating back to the space race’s inception, has been the pursuit of national prestige both domestically and internationally.

The moon landing achievement by India

India’s recent accomplishment of soft-landing a probe on the Moon, making it only the fourth nation to do so, underscores the nation’s commitment to its burgeoning space program. This significant achievement is a testament to India’s consistent progress in space exploration, driven by substantial investments.

At the dawn of the space era, the Soviet Union’s recognition of space program successes as a means to enhance its global standing led to the launch of Sputnik in 1957, marking the start of a series of achievements, including sending the first living creature (Laika the dog) and the first human (Yuri Gagarin) into space. These milestones ignited a sense of urgency in the United States to catch up technologically, culminating in President John F. Kennedy’s call to put American astronauts on the Moon.>Read More>

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is the latest leader attempting to leverage space triumphs for national prestige. Putin’s timing of the Luna-25 moon lander mission, close to India’s Chandrayaan-3 launch, aimed to showcase Russia’s greatness. However, Luna-25’s crash on the lunar surface due to a malfunction dashed Putin’s hopes and drew attention to Russia’s setbacks.

As nations’ space programs reflect their greatness, the rise of Asian programs like China and India comes to the fore. Both nations have developed sophisticated space technologies, such as cryogenic rocket engines, launchers, and spacecraft. They operate satellite constellations for various purposes, and China boasts a human spaceflight program with a functional space station. India plans to launch its astronauts soon, while China aspires to send astronauts to the Moon in the 2030s. Notably, China’s lunar rover is actively exploring the far side of the Moon, a feat yet unmatched.tags#Russia