A Chinese scientist says that India did not land on the south pole of the moon

This image from video provided by the Indian Space Research Organization shows the lunar surface as the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft prepares to land on Wednesday, August 23, 2023. India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole. Which scientists believe could contain vital reserves of frozen water. (ISRO via AP)

(NewsNation) – In August, India became the first country to land near the moon’s south pole. Now, a top Chinese scientist claims to have landed far from the Moon’s south pole.

India’s Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander is far from the Moon’s south pole, and lies at 69 degrees south latitude when the Moon’s south pole is in between, Ouyang Ziyuan, often called the father of China’s lunar program, told the Chinese-language newspaper Science Times. Latitude 88.5 and 90 degrees.

“This is a mistake!” He said. “The landing site of Chandrayaan-3 is neither in the lunar south pole, nor in the lunar south pole region, nor near the lunar south pole region.”

On Earth, 69 degrees south lies within the Antarctic Circle, but the lunar equivalent is much closer to the pole. According to Ziyuan, Chandrayaan-3 was 619 kilometers (385 miles) from the polar region.

China has much better technology, Pang Zhihao, a senior space expert based in Beijing, was quoted by the Communist Party newspaper “Global Times” as saying, according to the Communist Party newspaper “Global Times”. time.

China’s space program “is capable of sending orbiters and landers directly into Earth-moon transfer orbit since the launch of Chang’e-2 in 2010, a maneuver India has not yet carried out given the limited capacity of its launch vehicles.” The post said. “The engine that China used is also much more advanced.”

ISRO has never claimed to have landed on the South Pole; Technology publication IFLScience It simply says that they landed closer to the South Pole than any other country.

Despite this, the landing of Chandrayaan-3 was important to scientists, who believe that the uncharted region could contain reserves of frozen water and valuable elements that could aid in future missions.