The rivalry between Asia's two biggest nations has deepened into outer space.
After India's landing of its Chandrayaan III rover on the moon last month, the nation is the first country to put a spacecraft near the moon and breaking China's record for the southernmost lunar landing-a top Chinese scientist has said claims about the accomplishment are overstated.
How do you calculate 5 and 90 degrees.
On Earth, 69 degrees south would be within the Antarctic Circle, but the moon version of the circle is far closer to the pole.
The Chandrayaan-3 was 619 kilometers away from the polar region, Ouyang said.
On Thursday, India's space agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After the Chandrayaan-3 landing, the Communist Party quoted Pang Zhihao, a Beijing-based senior space expert, as saying China had much better technology.
However, Chandrayaan-3 went far more south than any other spacecraft. The failed attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon last month resulted in a failed attempt at resupply.
In 2019, China's Chang'e 4, the first spacecraft to land on the far side of the moon, hit down 45 degrees south. In 1968, an uncrewed NASA spacecraft, Surveyor 7, reached the moon at about 41 degrees south.
The moon's orbit is important not just for bragging rights, but also for being close to it. Scientists believe that the region has ice reserves that could potentially be valuable for long-term stays.
China and the U.S. are both looking to the area for their upcoming plans to send astronauts to the moon for the first time since NASA's Apollo program ended a half century ago.
Ragini Saxena, Linda Lew and Daniela Wei collaborated with Ragini Saxena.