China’s leading aerospace scientist Qi Faren recently caused uproar after claiming that India’s Vikram moon lander had landed “nowhere near” the south pole, despite India’s space agency announcing that it had conducted a successful landing there. His comments raised questions about how he came to this conclusion and India’s response has been to stand firm on the success of its mission. This controversy has been seen as a manifestation of the space race that has been played out between India and China for years.