India launches its first mission to the Moon

摘要

An unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft blasted off smoothly from an island launch pad off India's southern Andhra Pradesh coast on 22 October 2008 to begin a two year mission of lunar exploration. The robotic probe will orbit the Moon, compiling a 3D atlas of the lunar surface and mapping the distribution of elements and minerals. The chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Madhavan Nair, described it was a "historic moment" for the country.