<i>India celebrates planting its flag on moon</i>

In this handout picture released on Nov 14, shows the surface of the moon taken by Moon Impact Probe (MIP) shortly before landing after separation from India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft.Photo: AFP

India rejoiced yesterday at joining an elite club by planting its flag on the moon as the country's space agency released the first pictures of the cratered surface taken by its maiden lunar mission.
A probe sent late Friday from the orbiting mother spacecraft took pictures and gathered other data India needs for a future moon landing as it plummeted to a crash-landing at the moon's south pole, said Indian Space Research Organization spokesman B.R. Guruprasad.
The box-shaped probe was painted with India's saffron, white and green flag, sparking celebrations in the country that is striving to become a world power.