The day has come for India to try for a historic Moon landing

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  On Friday, India's Vikram lander will attempt to make a soft landing on the Moon's surface. This gallery highlights how that will happen. [credit: ISRO ]

In late July, an Indian rocket launched the Chandrayaan-2 mission from a spaceport in the Bay of Bengal. This is the second spacecraft India has sent to the Moon and the first to attempt a soft landing. Since launching, the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft has spent the last six weeks spiraling toward lunar orbit, reaching it, and releasing a lander that will attempt to reach the surface.

India seeks to make history with its Vikram lander—until now, only the US, Russian, and Chinese space agencies have ever successfully landed on the Moon. Friday is the day for this landing attempt, which should begin around, or shortly after 3:30pm ET (19:30 UTC).

However, as an Israel-backed private company found out in April, softly landing a spacecraft on the lunar surface can be very difficult. The Beresheet vehicle's main engine failed about 10km above the Moon, and thereafter struck the Moon at a velocity of around 130 meters per second.