Chandrayaan-3 is part of a new era of lunar exploration. A multitude of missions – robotic and crewed, government and private – are pushing boundaries, with more than a dozen countries lining up different ventures.
The Japanese space agency is due to launch a scientific probe this month, three US commercial landers are set for send-off by the end of the year and there are also plans by the United States to get astronauts back on the ground by 2027.
China, whose Chang’e-4 spacecraft was the first to land on the moon’s far side in 2019, has two robotic missions planned between now and 2030, including sending its Chang’e-7 to lunar orbit and a lander and rover to the south pole. It has also outlined
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