The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) achieved a significant milestone on Friday as it successfully launched a rocket carrying a spacecraft destined for a lunar landing on the south pole.
This achievement, if accomplished, would solidify India’s position as a major space power.
The ISRO’s LVM3 launch rocket took off from the country’s primary spaceport in Andhra Pradesh, leaving behind a trail of smoke and fire, the foreign media has reported.
Mission control at the ISRO announced that the rocket had successfully placed the Chandrayaan-3 lander into an Earth orbit, setting it on a trajectory that would lead to a planned moon landing next month.
The significance of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft lies in its intended landing at the lunar south pole, an area of great interest to space agencies and private companies due to the presence of water ice, which holds the potential for supporting future space exploration and the establishment of a space station.
According to foreign media, the launch took place at 2:35 pm local time from India’s primary spaceport. More than 1.4 million viewers witnessed the event through the ISRO’s YouTube channel, with many offering congratulations and expressing patriotic sentiments with the slogan “Jai Hind” (Victory to India).
In 2020, the ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 mission successfully deployed an orbiter, but its lander and rover met an unfortunate fate during a crash near the landing site that the Chandrayaan-3 mission aims to touch down on.
Chandrayaan, meaning “moon vehicle” in Sanskrit, includes a 2-meter-tall lander designed to deploy a rover near the moon’s south pole. The rover is expected to conduct a series of experiments and operate for approximately two weeks.
The lunar landing is scheduled for August 23, according to the ISRO’s statement.
