Indians abuzz as nation blasts lander, rover to moon’s south pole
- If the mission succeeds, India would join the US, the former Soviet Union and China in managing a controlled lunar landing
- The launch is India’s first major mission since PM Narendra Modi ’s government revealed policies to spur investment in space launches, satellite-based businesses
India’s space agency launched a rocket on Friday that sent a spacecraft into orbit and toward a planned landing next month on the lunar south pole, an unprecedented feat that would advance India’s position as a major space power.
The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) LVM3 launch rocket blasted off from the country’s main spaceport in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh on Friday afternoon, leaving behind a plume of smoke and fire.
About 16 minutes later, ISRO’s mission control announced that the rocket had succeeded in putting the Chandrayaan-3 lander into an Earth orbit that will send it looping toward a moon landing next month.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft would also be the first to land at the lunar south pole, an area of special interest for space agencies and private space companies because of the presence of water ice that could support a future space station.
The rocket blasted off from India’s main spaceport at 2.35pm local time. Over 1.4 million people watched the launch on ISRO’s YouTube channel, many offering congratulations and the patriotic slogan “Jai Hind” (Victory to India).
Several ISRO scientists were shown in footage by Indian news agency ANI taking a handheld model of the Chandrayaan-3 to a popular temple in southern India on Thursday to seek blessings ahead of the launch.