Liftoff! India Launches Ambitious Mission to Land at the Moons South Pole

(Space.com) Mike Wall July 22 2019 India is on its way to the moon again this time to the lunar surface. The nations robotic Chandrayaan-2 mission launched today (July 22) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre rising off the pad atop a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III) rocket at 5:13 a.m. EDT (0913 GMT; 2:43 p.m. local Indian time). The launch came after just over a week long delay due to a rocket glitch and just days after NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. My dear friends today is a historical day for space and science technology in India said K. Sivan Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) adding that the GSLV Mk III rocket placed Chandrayaan-2 in a better orbit than expected. It is the beginning of a historical journey of India towards the moon and to land at the place near the south pole to carry out scientific experiments to explore the unexplored. The liftoff kicks off a long and looping deep-space trip. If all goes according to plan the spacecraft will reach lunar orbit on Sept. 6 and then put a lander-rover duo down near the moons south pole shortly thereafter.