Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —

Indian moon landing mission completed Chandrayaan-3 success, while waiting Russia failed to explore the moon after the failed landing of Luna-25. So, does this mean India is more powerful than Russia?

Leroy Chiao, a former NASA astronaut, believes that many countries have created and continued civilian space programs. But since the start of the space race, by far the main motivation has been to increase national prestige, both at home and abroad.

This is what pushed India to become the fourth country to successfully land a probe on the Moon last week.

This success marks a major milestone for the nascent space program, which has progressed steadily over the years.

“I hope that future successes will follow: Delhi has demonstrated its commitment to making significant investments in space exploration efforts,” Chiao said. CNN.

At the start of the space age, the Soviet Union (now called Russia) truly understood how a successful space program could improve its position on the international stage: it was the first to go to the Moon with the launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957.

Even though this satellite only transmits simple signals, the implications of this launch are enormous.

Subsequent advances followed, including the first animal in orbit (the dog Laika in 1957) and the first human in space (Yuri Gagarin in 1961).

As Russia continued its successes in space, America almost panicked. Although the United States followed suit with its own successes, the first impression was that it lagged behind the Soviets in terms of technology.

That's why President John F. Kennedy's call to land American astronauts on the Moon resonated so deeply with the United States. This proposal received support from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, as well as the general American public.

City of PolicyThe space race is seen as a war for survival, one that cannot be lost.

Russian President Vladimir Putin later joined a line of leaders who have attempted to use space successes to reflect their nation's greatness.

Putin hopes to take advantage of the successful landing of the Russian Luna-25. However, Russia lost this match.

Luna-25 suffered damage that caused it to fall, preventing it from landing smoothly on the lunar surface.

Had it succeeded, Luna-25 would have been presented as “proof” that Russia is still a great country, despite its setbacks in the devastating war in Ukraine.

Race to the Moon

If these space programs are a reflection of the greatness of a country, then it is interesting to examine them more closely: what is currently developing are programs from Asia, particularly China and India.

Both countries have developed rocket engines, launch vehicles and advanced cryogenic spacecraft.

Both operate multiple satellite constellations for communications, Earth imaging and remote sensing. China even has its own constellation of navigation satellites.

China also has a human spaceflight program with an operational space station, including a crew and a cargo-carrying spacecraft.