India has launched its third Moon mission and is hoping to become to the first to land near its south pole – which has rarely been explored.<br /><br />If successful, the Chandrayaan-3's orbiter, lander and a rover are due to touch down on the Moon's surface on 23 or 24 August.<br /><br />The rocket set off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre space centre just after 09:05 GMT (10:05 BST; 14:35 local time).<br /><br />The launch by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is the country's first major mission since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government announced policies to spur investment in the space industry.
