India’s Chandrayaan-3, the country’s third lunar exploration mission, successfully took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

The mission aims to achieve a soft landing on the moon’s surface, making India the fourth country to do so. The spacecraft was launched using the GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle.

It is estimated to take approximately one month for the spacecraft to reach the moon, with a planned landing date of August 23. Once on the lunar surface, the spacecraft will operate for one lunar day, equivalent to around 14 Earth days. Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-up to the Chandrayaan-2 mission, which faced challenges during its soft landing attempt in 2019.