India Successfully Launches Lunar Probe 'Chandrayaan 3'... Reattempting Landing on Moon's South Pole

Fourth After the US, Soviet Union, and China Upon Successful Landing

India has made a renewed attempt to launch an unmanned lunar probe.

According to AP, AFP, and other news agencies, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that it launched the unmanned lunar probe Chandrayaan-3 at 2:35 PM local time on the 14th from the Sriharikota Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh, southern India. Chandrayaan means 'vehicle of the moon' in Sanskrit.

ISRO stated that Chandrayaan-3 successfully entered Earth’s orbit and will enter lunar orbit next month for a moon landing. ISRO aims for Chandrayaan-3 to land on the lunar surface on the 23rd of next month.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Chandrayaan-3 will be the first to land on the lunar south pole and conduct a two-week lunar exploration. The lunar south pole is a region of great interest due to the presence of water and ice.

If India succeeds in landing on the moon, it will become the fourth country to do so after the United States, the Soviet Union, and China.

India launched Chandrayaan-1 in October 2008, successfully entering lunar orbit and exploring the moon’s surface. Then, in 2019, it launched Chandrayaan-2 and attempted to land on the lunar south pole surface, but the mission failed after losing communication.

Originally, India planned to launch Chandrayaan-3 in 2020, but the schedule was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.