India's third unmanned lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, has been launched from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 2.35 PM IST on July 14.
The mission is aimed at exploring the south polar region of the moon.
If the mission is successful, India will only be the fourth country to have achieved the feat, joining the elite club of the US, Russia and neighbouring China.
The US and Soviet Union crashed many spacecraft before their successfully making a soft and safe landing on the lunar surface. China was the only country to succeed in its first attempt with the Chang’e-3 mission in 2013.
The south-polar region on the moon is of much interest due to the presence of many permanently shadowed craters which could contain water ice and precious minerals.
A follow-up mission to Chandrayaan-2 which failed after the lander crash-landed on the moon 48 days of its launch, Once it makes a safe landing on the moon after 40 days, Chandrayaan-3 will seek to demonstrate end-to-end landing and roving capabilities.
