Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) mission Chandrayaan-3 will be launched today i.e. Friday (July 14, 2023). Till Now only Three countries have successfully achieved a soft landing on the moon. These countries are the United States, the Soviet Union (now Russia), and China. Here are the details of their respective soft landing missions:
United States: The United States achieved the first manned moon landing with the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the lunar surface during this mission. The Apollo program continued with several other successful missions that included soft landings on the moon.
Soviet Union/Russia: The Soviet Union (now Russia) successfully accomplished unmanned soft landings on the moon with their Luna program. The first successful soft landing was achieved by Luna 2 on September 13, 1959, making it the first human-made object to reach the moon's surface. The Luna program continued with subsequent missions, including Luna 9, which achieved the first successful transmission of images from the lunar surface on February 3, 1966.
China: China's space agency, the China National Space Administration (CNSA), achieved its first soft landing on the moon with the Chang'e 3 mission on December 14, 2013. The Chang'e 3 lander successfully deployed the Yutu rover, making China the third country to achieve a soft landing on the moon. China has since continued its lunar exploration program with subsequent missions, including the Chang'e 4 mission in 2019 and the Chang'e 5 mission in 2020.
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