India on Monday launched a low-cost rocket on a historic bid to put a landing craft on the surface of the Moon and join an elite space force. A week after an initial launch was halted just before blast-off, Chandrayaan-2 - or Moon Chariot 2 - took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre carrying national pride and the hopes of Indian scientists. India is seeking to become just the fourth nation after Russia, the United States and China to land a spacecraft on the Moon.
If the rest of the mission goes to plan, the Indian probe will land on the lunar South Pole in early September. "Every Indian is immensely proud today!," tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has vowed to send a manned mission into orbit by 2022. "Special moments that will be etched in the annals of our glorious history!" There were applause, handshakes and hugs in the mission control room as the rocket blasted off from the base on an island just off the coast of Andra Pradesh state.
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