The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has successfully launched a rocket from Sriharikota, marking a significant step in its mission to land a spacecraft at the lunar south pole.
The launch of the LVM3 rocket from the country’s main spaceport in Andhra Pradesh has propelled India’s aspirations to become a major space power.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission, dubbed the “moon vehicle” in Sanskrit, aims to deploy a lander and rover near the moon’s south pole by August 23.
This ambitious feat, if achieved, would set India apart as one of the few nations to successfully land on the moon’s surface, specifically in the southern region.
Shortly after the launch, ISRO Director Sreedhara Panicker Somanath congratulated India, announcing that Chandrayaan-3 had embarked on its journey towards the moon.
The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi expressed his support through a tweet, stating that it carries the “hopes and dreams of our nation.”
This launch follows the previous Chandrayaan-2 mission, which successfully deployed an orbiter but experienced a crash landing, resulting in the loss of its lander and rover.
Chandrayaan-3 includes a two-meter-tall lander named Vikram and a rover named Pragyan, meaning “wisdom” in Sanskrit.
The rover is expected to operate for two weeks, conducting various experiments and capturing images of the lunar surface. The data collected will be transmitted back to Earth for detailed analysis.
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