A New Race to the Moon

<p>Last week, India landed its spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 on the moon, becoming the first country to land such a craft near the south pole, where scientists believe vital reserves of water could be found frozen. The landing also revealed just how much the international space race has changed.</p><p>Kenneth Chang, a science reporter for The Times, explains why a new set of players are dominating the space race and what is motivating their groundbreaking missions to the moon.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/kenneth-chang">Kenneth Chang</a>, a science reporter for The New York Times.</p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/23/science/chandrayaan-3-india-moon-landing.html">India became the first country</a> to get a craft to the lunar south polar region in one piece, adding to the achievements of its homegrown space program.</li><li>At the moon’s south pole,<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/23/science/on-the-moons-south-pole-a-quest-for-ice.html"> a quest for ice</a>.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.</p>