Lunar history could be made this afternoon as the Vikram spacecraft of India's unprecedented Chandrayaan-2 mission is set to land on the moon.
"Landing is the terrifying moment," the Indian Space Research Organization chairman Kailasavadivoo Sivan said in August, reports National Geographic.
If successful, it will be the southernmost soft, controlled landing on the moon's surface. The descent will last 15 minutes, and Vikram must scan the area for a hazard-free landing zone, per National Geographic. Other spacecrafts have tried and failed, and Sivan says they are learning from others' failures.
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The mission aims to uncover information about the unexplored south-pole region of the moon that could lead to a deeper understanding of the moon's origin and evolution, according to the ISRO.
The spacecraft launched in late July and plans to explore the moon's surface for one lunar day, which is two Earth weeks.
Watch the landing live on the ISRO website starting at 3:40 p.m. EST. Read more at National Geographic. Taylor Watson
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