Nasa chief congratulates India, Isro as Chandrayaan-3 lands on moon

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on Wednesday congratulated India on being the 4th country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon and said the US space agency was glad to be India's "partner" on this mission.

India's Chandrayaan-3 became the first space mission to land near the south pole of the Moon. The attempt comes days after Russia's unmanned Luna-25 spacecraft spun out of control and crashed into the Moon.

"Congratulations @isro on your successful Chandrayaan-3 lunar South Pole landing! And congratulations to #India on being the 4th country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon. We're glad to be your partner on this mission!" Nelson posted on X.

India's third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole at 6.04 pm after a flawless 41-day voyage.

With this touchdown on the Moon in its second attempt in four years, India has become the fourth country to master the technology of soft-landing on the lunar surface after the US, China and the erstwhile Soviet Union.