Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar exploration mission, lifted off successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota as per scheduled launch time. This mission will make India the fourth country to land its spacecraft on the surface of the moon and demonstrate the country’s ability for safe and soft landing on the lunar surface.
The spacecraft was launched on a GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle.
The journey from Earth to the moon for the spacecraft is estimated to take about a month and the landing is expected on August 23. Upon landing, it will operate for one lunar day, which is approximately 14 Earth days. One day on the Moon is equal to 14 days on Earth.
This is Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) follow-up attempt after the Chandrayaan-2 mission faced challenges during its soft landing in 2019.