India made history on Wednesday when it became the first nation to land a spacecraft at the Moon's south pole.
The touchdown of the Vikram lander, part of India's Chandrayaan-3 mission, in uncharted territory signified the country's entry into the space race.
Aside from this historic moment, India's mission plans to gain vital knowledge about lunar water ice, potentially one of the Moon's most valuable resources.
Missions to the Moon once conjured up grainy footage of Neil Armstrong and the famous line, “That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”.
They peaked in the 1960s, with more than 60 missions during that decade – successful and unsuccessful. In the 1970s, there were slightly more than 20 lunar missions, none in the 1980s and only a handful in the two following decades.
But global interest has been rising in recent years and the number of missions is picking up, with as many as 25 planned for the next five years.
Landing on the south pole is an important development, however. Here The National takes a look at why.
Why are nations going back?
When the Vikram lander touched down on Wednesday (at 4.34pm UAE time) India became only the fourth nation to successfully carry out a soft landing on the Moon – after the US, China and Russia.
Days earlier, Russia's Luna-25 craft crashed during the country's first lunar mission in half a century.
Landing on the unexplored south pole was no easy feat because it is full of craters and deep trenches.
Nevertheless the US and China are working on missions to the south pole, which Nasa describes as being full of “mystery, science and intrigue”.
They are planning to build a lunar base and from there, eventually launch astronauts to Mars.
Russia envisages several more missions and will also explore the possibility of a joint Russian-China manned mission and a lunar base.
The UAE is planning a second attempt to land a rover on the Moon, after Japan's Hakuto-R Mission 1 spacecraft – carrying the UAE's Rashid rover – crashed as it tried to land in April.
Rashid 1 was the first mission under the UAE's home-grown Moon exploration programme.
The rover took a team of 11 engineers at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre six years to build. No date has been set for a second attempt.
Why is the Moon's south pole so important?
The presence of frozen water on the Earth's main satellite could be key to developing a moon colony, lunar mining and potential missions to Mars, and the south pole has been where samples of water have principally been found.
Scientists speculated as far back as those early lunar missions in the 1960s that there was water on the Moon. But samples gathered by Apollo crews appeared to be dry.
Researchers from Brown University, in the US, in 2008 used new technology to study the Apollo samples and found hydrogen inside tiny beads of volcanic glass.
The following year, India's first moon mission Chandrayaan-1 did discover water on the moon through a Nasa instrument, although that mission was cut short because of technical glitches.
In 2020, Nasa researchers using the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy announced they had discovered water on the sunlit surface of the Moon’s Southern Hemisphere.
About 300ml of water was trapped in a cubic metre of soil spread across the surface.
This year, impact glass beads, which formed millions of years ago after asteroids crashed on the Moon, were collected by Chinese lunar lander Chang’e-5 around the north-south axis and were found to contain water.
“These findings indicate that the impact glasses on the surface of the Moon and other airless bodies in the solar system are capable of storing solar wind-derived water and releasing it into space,” Prof Hu, from China's Institute of Geology and Geophysics, said in March.
Why is water on the Moon a game-changer?
The presence of water on the Moon could provide a record of lunar volcanoes, material that comets and asteroids delivered to Earth, and the origin of oceans.
If found in sufficient quantities, it could be a source of drinking water and could help to cool equipment on future explorations.
The next phase could see it broken down to produce hydrogen for fuel and oxygen to breathe, supporting missions to Mars or lunar mining for rare Earth metals like scandium, yttrium and the 15 lanthanides, according to research by Boeing.
Nasa also estimates that there are a million tonnes of the rare helium-3 isotope on the Moon. This isotope could provide nuclear energy in a fusion reactor but since it is not radioactive, it would not produce dangerous waste, according to the European Space Agency.
Dr Dimitra Atri, an astrophysicist at New York University Abu Dhabi, told The National that the Moon's south pole was most likely to have ice that “has been deposited by meteorites over several billion years”.
“Because this region is not directly exposed to sunlight, the ice is preserved, unlike other regions which were explored during the Apollo era [near the equator], where it would quickly sublimate [from ice directly to water vapour],” he said.
“This pristine ice is of great scientific significance because it is a record of the more than four-billion-year history of the solar system.
“Since agencies around the globe are thinking about establishing permanent human bases on the Moon, ice can help with human habitation and can be used to produce rocket fuel for missions to Mars and elsewhere.”
With input from Reuters
UAE Premiership
Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes
Fixture
Friday, March 29, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, The Sevens, Dubai
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The specs: 2019 Jeep Wrangler
Price, base: Dh132,000
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 285hp @ 6,400rpm
Torque: 347Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.6L to 10.3L / 100km
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
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Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More on Yemen's civil war
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The five pillars of Islam
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
The years Ramadan fell in May
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Fifa Club World Cup:
When: December 6-16
Where: Games to take place at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi and Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain
Defending champions: Real Madrid
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: now
DUBAI CARNIVAL RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner Dubai Future, Harry Bentley (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm UAE 1000 Guineas Listed $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner Dubai Love, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
7.40pm Dubai Dash Listed $175,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner: Equilateral, James Doyle, Charles Hills.
8.15pm Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions $100,000 (D) 1.900m
Winner Laser Show, Kevin Stott, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Al Fahidi Fort Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Glorious Journey, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
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The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
