"This mission will offer new knowledge about the Moon," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, praising the scientists responsible for what he called a fully indigenous mission. China, Russia and the United States are the only other nations to have sent missions to the moon. Globally, Chandrayaan-2, whose name means "moon vehicle" in Sanskrit, will be the year's third bid at a moon landing, following China's successful launch of a lunar probe and the Israeli Beresheet spacecraft, which failed and crashed on the moon in April. Modi's nationalist government has in particular been active in advancing India's space policy and projecting India as a space power. On Monday, Modi tweeted an image of himself following the Chandrayaan-2 event on a television screen and applauding the liftoff.

Source: Otago Daily Times July 22, 2019 21:33 UTC