Soft‑landing near the Moon’s south pole.
Chandrayaan‑3 was ISRO’s “redemption” mission after the Chandrayaan‑2 landing attempt. It consisted of a propulsion module, the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover. The lander touched down near the lunar south pole on 23 August 2023, making India the first country to soft‑land in this region.
Permanently shadowed craters in this region may trap ancient water ice. That makes it a prime candidate for future fuel depots, habitats and science bases.
For about one lunar day (~14 Earth days), Vikram and Pragyan carried out experiments, captured images and drove a short distance on the regolith. Before lunar nightfall, ISRO attempted to put them into sleep mode, but they did not re‑awaken — which was within expectations for this mission design.