India became the world’s first country to reach the lunar south pole on Wednesday, three days after Russia’s spacecraft crashed in the same region.
WSJ explains why the two countries were racing to get there, and how their missions could affect the global space race.
Photo: Aijaz Rahi/Associated PressNEW DELHI—Surendra Pal, an engineer who worked at India’s space agency for four decades to build its satellite program, still remembers the early days of the country’s space efforts.
A handful of engineers fresh out of college worked out of sheds with corrugated metal roofs on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
There wasn’t a lot of equipment.
Persons:
Aijaz, Surendra Pal
Organizations:
Russia’s, Associated Press, DELHI
Locations:
India, Bengaluru