An Indian spacecraft has begun its journey to the far side of the moon, aiming to place an unmanned lander and a rover on the lunar surface.
Friday’s successful launch of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was celebrated with applause and cheers in the control room at the Satish Dhawan Space Center on the island of Sriharikota in eastern India. Outside the center, thousands of people had gathered to watch the rocket lift off.
It is India’s second attempt to land on the moon. Four years ago, an unmanned lander was about to touch down when it crashed, a major setback for the Indian space programme.
If all goes according to plan, the lunar lander should touch down near the moon’s unexplored south pole around August 23 and 24. If it succeeds, India will be the fourth country after the United States, the then Soviet Union and China to achieve the feat of landing on the moon.