ANKARA

India on Friday successfully launched its third lunar exploration mission, aiming to land a rover on the moon.

"LVM3 M4 vehicle successfully launched Chandrayaan-3 into orbit," the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said in a statement, adding that the spacecraft was in its "precise orbit" and had begun its journey to the Moon. "Health of the Spacecraft is normal."

The Chandrayaan-3 lifted off at 2.35 p.m. local time (0905GMT) from the Sriharikota space center in southern India on a Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3 or GSLV Mark 3) rocket, which has undertaken the most complex missions of the Indian space agency.

ISRO announced that a 24-hour rehearsal simulation of the entire launch process had ended.

The agency said in a statement that the Chandrayaan-3 mission, following its predecessor of the same name, demonstrates India's end-to-end capabilities for safe landing and roving on the lunar surface.

It added that the propulsion module would carry the lander and rover up to a 100-kilometer (about 62-mile) lunar orbit.​​​​​​​

The Chandrayaan-2 mission previously deployed an orbiter in 2019, but later announced that its lander and rover had been destroyed in a crash. The first Chandrayaan moon mission — the earliest conducted by India — was launched in 2008.

The space agency said Friday's mission had three main objectives: To achieve a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, to deploy the rover on the moon, and to conduct on-site scientific experiments.

"The deployment of the rover and in-situ scientific experiment will scale new heights in lunar expeditions by deploying Rover," it said.

The agency said the Chandrayaan-3 consists of an indigenous propulsion module, a lander module, and a rover aiming to develop and demonstrate "new technologies required for inter-planetary missions."

Indian officials said that if the Chandrayaan-3 landing proves successful, its six-wheel rover will emerge for an expected 14 days of work on the moon. The landing is expected on Aug. 23-24.

This is the sixth mission that the Indian space agency is conducting this year.

So far, only three other countries — the US, Russia, and China — have successfully put a spacecraft on the moon in a soft landing.

After the launch, Indian Premier Narendra Modi said the Chandrayaan-3 opened "a new chapter in India's space odyssey."

"It soars high, elevating the dreams and ambitions of every Indian. This momentous achievement is a testament to our scientists' relentless dedication. I salute their spirit and ingenuity," he said on Twitter.