India has launched Chandrayaan-3, a moon rover, with the aim of landing at the lunar south pole.

If the mission goes according to plan, India will become the fourth country to achieve a moon landing, following the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China.

The mission, which is ambitious and developed domestically, has a relatively low cost of 6 billion rupees ($73 million).

Its success would advance India's aspirations for affordable space exploration, particularly as other nations compete to establish a long-term presence on the moon.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft would be the first to land at the lunar south pole, an area of special interest for space agencies and private space companies because of the presence of water ice that could support a future space station.

This launch marks India's second attempt at a soft landing on the moon's surface, coming four years after the crash of Chandrayaan-2's lander-rover due to a software malfunction.

Chandrayaan-3's planned touchdown between August 23 and August 24 would be a significant achievement, as previous attempts to reach the moon's south pole have been unsuccessful, with most successful landings occurring near the moon's equator.

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