Is a "space alliance" called BRICS about to be born?

According to Bloomberg , at the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg (South Africa) on August 23, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to expand BRICS, in the context of many countries expressing interest in joining this bloc, and affirmed to continue to coordinate to strengthen the voice of Southern Hemisphere countries.

BRICS includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Leaders of the BRICS member countries (from left): Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, August 22, 2023. Photo: Timesofindia

Notably, a few hours before the spacecraft from this country successfully landed near the south pole of the Moon, the Indian Prime Minister proposed that BRICS countries should cooperate to establish a Space Exploration Association and emphasized that focusing on space research and meteorological monitoring will help develop new advanced measurement methods.

The Indian Prime Minister also suggested that BRICS countries should work together in the areas of education , technology and skill assessment.

The moment India's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft successfully landed on the surface of the Moon. Photo: IRSO

At 7:34 p.m. on August 23 (Vietnam time), India's Chandrayaan-3 lander successfully landed on the surface of the Moon. This success made India the first country to land a spacecraft near the south pole of the Moon. At the same time, India became the fourth country in the world to land on the surface of the Moon, after the Soviet Union, the United States and China.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in South Africa to attend the BRICS Summit, watched the successful landing of India's Chandrayaan-3 lander on the surface of the Moon online.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi watched the event online and warmly congratulated the ISRO control room and all Indians after the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3. Photo: DW

Immediately after the spacecraft successfully landed on the Moon, Mr. Narendra Modi shared his joy with the whole world and affirmed that India's successful mission to the Moon was not just for this country.

“ The human-centric approach that India has taken and represents has been applauded globally. Our mission to conquer the Moon was also based on a human-centric approach... Therefore, this success belongs to all humanity and it will also support future lunar missions by other nations, ” said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

After Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa congratulated India and said: “ For the BRICS family, this is an important moment .”

From New Delhi (India), scientists and officials of this country clapped and cheered in joy when witnessing the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 lander on the surface of the Moon. This is considered a major turning point in the field of space research of this country.

Indian scientists and officials applauded in joy as they witnessed the moment the country's lander successfully touched down on the surface of the Moon. Photo: IRSO

Aljazeera reported that at exactly 6:04 p.m. on August 23 (Indian time), the moment the Chandrayaan-3 lander landed near the South Pole of the Moon, the Indian Space Research Organization (IRSO) posted a post on social network X (formerly Twitter) and received more than 33 million views.

In this post, IRSO announced: “ Chandrayaan-3 Mission: India, I have reached my destination and so has Chandrayaan-3! Chandrayaan-3 has successfully made a soft landing on the Moon! Congratulations, India .”

The Chandrayaan-3 lander successfully landed on the surface of the Moon, making India the first country to land a spacecraft near the planet's south pole. Photo: IRSO

In a post on Telegram, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) also congratulated India on its successful moon landing and asserted that lunar exploration is important for all humanity.

Landing on the Moon is no easy task, as evidenced by the many failed attempts over the years. Recently, on August 20, Roscosmos announced that the Russian Luna-25 probe had lost control and crashed into the Moon's surface.