India has successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon.

On Wednesday, Aug. 23, the Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 made a historic landing on the south pool of the moon at local time 6am, AP News reported.

The South Asian country is the fourth nation to make a lunar landing after the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union.

"India is on the moon," said S. Somanath, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). "The sky is not the limit."

India's PM Narendra Modi marked the occasion with a tweet:

Chandrayaan-3's triumph mirrors the aspirations and capabilities of 140 crore Indians.

To new horizons and beyond!

Proud moment for 🇮🇳. https://t.co/4oi6w7TCGG

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2023

Nearly 7 million people watched the landing which was live-streamed on ISRO's official YouTube channel.

Rough terrain on the lunar south pole made the landing difficult, but it turned out to be a success. Two robots, a lander named Vikram and a rover named Pragyan, exited the spacecraft after the soft landing.

The mission allowed India to explore the possible presence of water ice on the moon, which could be a resource of fuel, oxygen, and drinking water for future space missions.

India's successful moon landing comes days after Russia's lunar mission failed.

"This is a big step forward in space exploration and of course a testament to the impressive progress made by India in the field of science and technology," congratulated Russia's president Vladimir Putin in a message to Modi published on the Kremlin website.

Former Singaporean Foreign Minister, George Yeo, also shared a congratulatory message on his Facebook page.

You can watch the full video of India's moon landing here:

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Top image from United Nations in India