Television footage showed the Indian Space Research
Organisation's (ISRO) LVM3 launch rocket blast off from the
country's main spaceport in the southern state of Andhra
Pradesh, leaving behind a plume of smoke and fire.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission is designed to deploy a lander and
rover near the moon's south pole around Aug. 23.
Only three other space agencies - the United States, the former
Soviet Union and China - have touched down a lander on the
moon's surface. None have landed near the lunar south pole.
The third Chandrayaan, which means "moon vehicle" in Sanskrit,
includes a 2m tall lander designed to deploy a rover near the
lunar south pole, where it is expected to remain functional for
two weeks running a series of experiments.
ISRO's Chandrayaan-2 mission in 2020 successfully deployed an
orbiter but its lander and rover were destroyed in a crash near
where the Chandrayan-3 will attempt a touchdown.
(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bengaluru; Editing by
Christina Fincher)
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