Chandrayaan-3 did not land on the South Pole of the Moon, say Chinese experts
NEW YORK, BRONX (ORDO News) — The competition in the space race reached a new level when China and India faced off on the Moon. Leading Chinese scientist Ouyang Ziyuan has expressed serious doubts about India’s claims to land on the moon near its south pole.
India, soon after successfully landing its rover Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon, claimed to have set a record by becoming the first country to reach the Moon near the south pole. However, the founder of the Chinese lunar exploration program, Ouyang Ziyuan, argues that this is not at all true.
According to Ouyang, the Indian Chandrayaan-3 landed far from the south pole of the Moon, namely at 69 degrees south latitude. This distance is 619 kilometers from the polar region of the Moon. For comparison, on Earth, 69 degrees south latitude is within the Arctic Circle.
Ouyang stated, “This is wrong! The landing site of Chandrayaan-3 is not at the south pole of the Moon, not in the south pole region of the Moon, and not near the south pole region of the Moon.”
The Chinese space agency highlighted its technological achievements in space, noting that its program has managed to send orbiters and landers into Earth-Moon orbit since the launch of Chang’e 2 in 2010. This achievement stands out especially in light of India’s limited launch vehicle capacity and the more advanced engine used by China.
However, it is worth noting that Chandrayaan-3 achieved a unique achievement by landing much closer to the south pole of the Moon than ever before. The area is of particular interest to scientists, who believe it may contain ice reserves that could be important for future missions and long-term stays on the Moon.
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News agencies contributed to this report, edited and published by ORDO News editors.
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