India is striving to establish itself as a national space superpower with its upcoming lunar Chandrayaan-3 mission, which is set to land safely on the unexplored south pole of the moon. This mission, launched last month, is scheduled to touch down on the lunar surface around 8:34 a.m. ET.

If successful, India will become the fourth country, following Russia, the U.S., and China, to achieve a moon landing, and the first to do so on one of the moon’s lunar poles.

The lunar south pole has recently gained significant interest in exploration due to the discovery of traces of water ice on the moon. India previously attempted a south pole landing in September 2019, but a software failure caused the Chandrayaan-2 mission to crash.

According to Wendy Cobb, a professor of strategy and security studies at the U.S. Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, the south pole is a crucial area for scientific and geologic research and could serve as a base for future exploration. The presence of water on the moon’s south pole is particularly significant, as it could potentially be used as a fuel source for rockets and spacecraft.

Russia recently made an attempt to land its first spacecraft on the moon in almost 50 years, but the Luna-25 mission unfortunately crashed into the lunar surface. In contrast, India is gaining recognition as a major player in space geopolitics.

During a visit in June, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed agreements with President Joe Biden, pledging to join the Artemis Accords and collaborate on missions between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and NASA. In the future, the two space agencies are expected to cooperate in sending Indian astronauts to the International Space Station.

Despite having a significantly smaller budget compared to NASA, ISRO has achieved remarkable accomplishments. The estimated cost of the Chandrayaan-3 mission is around $75 million, and it was delayed due to the Covid pandemic.