AS A prospective superpower of the world, India proved its potential to truly become a new economic global force with its successful landing near the moon’s south pole. On August 23, India's Chandrayaan-3 mission achieved a historic milestone sparking curiosity over the southern polar region—which is now named Shiv Shakti Point. This event fueled an ambitious and patriotic fervor in India, sparking local and global interest in its space market. 

Chandrayaan-3’s historical moon landing

   This historic touchdown occurred at 8:33 a.m., according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), an organization under India’s Department of Space. "We have achieved a soft landing on the moon! … India is on the moon!" ISRO Chairman Sreedhara Somanath announced after the successful landing. With this touchdown, India became the 4th nation to land on the moon and the 1st country to land a craft in the largely unexplored south pole. This expedition to the south pole illustrates India’s space ambition to expand knowledge on lunar water ice, which has been gaining fervor as one of the most valuable resources found on the moon. This is especially because the moon’s south pole hosts water, an essential element of life, in the form of ice. Not only can it provide life but the element found in the region may act as a coolant for equipment and provide rocket fuel[1]. 

   For this reason, India ferociously enacted its mission to land on precisely the lunar south pole. With sustainability being the key mission of today’s environmental and space agenda, the ability to harvest water on the moon for purposes such as drinking or even breaking down into hydrogen or oxygen for air is of tremendous value.  Apart from human use, the water found on the moon provides additional scientific significance by serving as a record of the moon’s geological activity, lunar volcanoes, and asteroid strikes[2]. Fortunately, the amount of water on the moon is predicted to be quite abundant. Based on National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy’s (SOFIA) data, scientists speculated that there could be approximately 12 ounces of water for every 1 m³ of lunar soil at the southern pole of the moon, amounting to approximately 600 million tons of water ice[2]. This illustrates how India’s successful landing on the south pole that hosts water entails profound scientific and environmental significance. 

   Sophisticated spacecraft technology is the key to exploring this region further. Accordingly, India and the ISRO have been garnering global reputations for their advanced spacecrafts and space program. The terrain of the south pole is extremely cratered, creating a very sloped and rocky surface. The geological challenges to reach the south pole are magnified as the moon’s south pole cannot be observed from Earth, signifying that scientists’ future knowledge might have to come purely from the spacecraft[2]. Yet, despite this challenge, India successfully landed on the lunar south pole, illustrating that its spacecraft technology is as polished as those of previous space race superpowers. To further expand space exploration in this region, experts project that India must focus on honing technologies to overcome the rocky terrain and physically move through the lunar south pole. 

India’s booming space economy 

   India has been acclaimed for having a very lucrative space market with ample opportunities in space exploration as its central government has been making significant reforms to increase the market’s value. The government has been making ambitious moves through increasing its spending on space initiatives, expanding investments in the nation's private space industry, and fostering commercial space endeavors. The government has encouraged the participation of private industries in the space mission, resulting in over 100 start-ups already active in diverse technological manufacturing markets, such as building launch vehicles and rockets and designing advanced satellites. 

   As such, India has been consistently taking steps to support the private space sector, which was shown again this year when the ISRO enacted Indian Space Policy 2023. Intended to establish a flourishing commercial space activity, this policy outlines the ISRO as an actor that grants approvals for space launches, sets up launch facilities, engages in satellite procurement and sales, and distributes high-resolution data, among various other functions. Furthermore, the ISRO will collaborate with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private enterprises to share technologies, products, and practices[4]. With higher private participation and the use of new, advanced satellite technology, the country’s space economy is predicted to reach $40 billion by 2040, using India’s current estimated space market value of $8 billion[3]. 

   Yet, in order to realize such market expansion, India must rectify its insufficient infrastructures and technological capabilities. The challenges include supporting the mass adaptation of satellite internet services, investing in space mining, and utilizing sustainable fuel and reusable spacecraft for a “greener” space[4]. But before considering sustainability issues, experts recommend that India first addresses its lack of local manufacturing capabilities, inadequate funding issues, and weak regulatory framework on space activities through a combined effort by both the Indian government and the private space industry. Such voices of concern portray how India’s space-driven governmental actions could be viewed as premature and unstable if it fails to address the underlying, fundamental manufacturing and legal issues behind its space activity. 

   However, despite these issues, India’s importance as a scientific power is still clear. India is not only one of the world’s most populous regions, but it is also a thriving center of innovation. The space market is now more driven by private enterprises; last year, space start-ups gained $120 million in new investments, and this rate is doubling or tripling each year[5]. India’s thriving private space sector demonstrates endless potential as it could result in the creation of new jobs and foster economic growth, making space operations more profitable and sustainable for the country to rely on.

India’s future space endeavors

   Gaining leverage from the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3, India seems optimistic in its future missions. On September 2, the ISRO launched its first solar expedition named Aditya-L1 mission. This mission involves studying the sun’s upper atmosphere, known as the corona, as well as its surface, known as the photosphere. The information that will be gathered on the mission has the potential to unravel enduring enigmas about the sun. Such mysteries include why the corona is significantly hotter than the photosphere even though it resides approximately 2,000 km farther from the sun’s core[2]. 

   The spacecraft is positioned in a halo orbit encircling Lagrange point L1 within the Earth-sun system, approximately 1.5 million km from Earth. Placing a satellite in a halo orbit around L1 offers a significant benefit as it maintains a continuous line of sight to the sun, free from any occultation or eclipses. This positioning affords a distinct advantage for real-time observation of solar activities and their impact on space weather.  Since its launch, Aditya-L1 has already successfully executed two orbits around Earth. Following three additional orbits around our planet, it will be directed towards its destination at L1[6]. 

   India’s ceaseless aspirations for space exploration will also be exhibited through its Gaganyaan-1 mission—scheduled to be launched at the end of 2023. Gaganyaan is an Indian crewed orbital spacecraft that will be carrying 3 people to an orbit of 400 km for 3 days before bringing them back to Earth. This mission holds pressing significance as it will demonstrate the ability of India’s human spacecraft technology. This mission’s prerequisite specifically entails the development of critical technologies including human launch vehicles, life support systems, and crew emergency escape provisions to carry the members safely to space, which thus will test Gaganyaan's ability to carry humans to space[7]. 

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   The future of India’s space mission appears to be very optimistic with the landing of Chandrayaan-3 and successful launch of Aditya-L1. With the historical landing on the moon’s south pole, the world’s attention has geared towards India, a prospective economic superpower, once again. Even beyond the Chandrayaan-3 mission, the ISRO is planning to launch more spacecraft to explore the wonders of space, which appears ever so bright with the government’s ambitious investments in both the public and private space sectors. 

[1] The Washington Post

[2] Space

[3] IAS Parliament

[4] Business Today 

[5] The New York Times

[6] BBC News

[7] Indian Space Research Organization