Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the launch of the moon lander a source of national pride [ISRO]
Just two days after the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of humans first setting foot on the moon, India launched the unmanned Chandrayaan-2 mission to land spacecraft on the surface of Earth’s natural satellite.
The launch was delayed from an initial date last week due to a technical issue, but this has not deterred India and its Space Research Organization (ISRO) from trying to become the fourth nation – after the US, Russia, and China – to land on the moon.
The Chandrayaan-2 – which means moon craft in Sanskrit – is expected to land in the southern pole area of moon in September.
Eleven years ago, India launched the Chandrayaan-1 mission to orbit the moon and in particular the southern pole, where it dedicated the possible existence of water.
Hoping to capture more of the $304-billion global space market, India is also expected to send a multi-million dollar mission to probe the Sun by 2020.
In 2013, India launched the Mangalyaan Mars mission and it reached the red planet’s orbit in September of 2014, making it the fourth to reach the planet after the US, Russia, and the European Space Agency.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
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