The race to the moon is in full force

SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

India has accomplished something no other country has done.

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SREEDHARA PANICKER SOMANATH: Soft landing on the moon – India is on the moon.

(APPLAUSE)

DETROW: It successfully landed a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole, a largely uncharted region. The south pole is the coolest place to be on the moon right now. Craters near the south pole are in a permanent shadow. In fact, it is so cool that experts think there could be frozen water there. And so for the past few years, it’s been where many countries have been trying to go.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking Russian).

DETROW: Russia launched a probe, Luna 25, earlier this month, but it crashed into the moon. Other countries have also been trying for years to land unmanned probes on the moon – sometimes successfully, like China in 2019…

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Well, we got word overnight that a Chinese spacecraft has landed on the far side of the moon. And this is the first image…

DETROW: …Other times, not so successfully…

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OPHER DORON: We seem to have a problem with our main engine.

DETROW: …Like in Israel’s case…

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DORON: We had a failure in the spacecraft. We unfortunately have not managed to land successfully.

DETROW: …And Japan…

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TAKESHI HAKAMADA: We lost the communication, so we have to assume that we could not complete the landing on the lunar surface.

DETROW: As for NASA…

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BILL NELSON: So there’s renewed interest in the moon.

DETROW: …It hopes its mission, Artemis II, will put humans back on the moon by 2024.

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NELSON: And, of course, it’s there because the potential of water. And if there is water in enough abundance, then you have the potential for hydrogen and oxygen.

DETROW: More countries than ever…