SRIHARIKOTA: India on Friday (Jul 14) launched a rocket seeking to land an unmanned spacecraft on the surface of the moon, a live feed showed, its second attempt to become only the fourth country to do so.
The rocket lifted off from Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh carrying the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, as thousands of enthusiasts clapped and cheered.
The world’s most populous nation has a cut-price aerospace programme that is rapidly closing in on the milestones set by global space powers.
Only Russia, the United States and China have previously achieved a controlled landing on the lunar surface.
India’s last attempt to do so ended in failure four years ago, when ground control lost contact moments before landing.
If the rest of the Indian mission goes to plan, the Chandrayaan-3, which means “Mooncraft” in Sanskrit, will safely touch down near the moon’s little-explored south pole between Aug 23 and Aug 24.