BloombergIndia yesterday successfully launched its second mission to the moon, a week after a technical snag forced the South Asian nation to postpone the attempt. The uncrewed Chandrayaan-2, which means “moon vehicle” in Sanskrit, was launched at 2:43pm from a tiny barrier island in southeastern India. India is attempting to become the first nation to land on the south pole of Earth’s closet neighbor. The mission also highlights Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s renewed focus on space exploration since he came to power more than five years ago. India plans to send a mission to study the sun next year, another to Venus three years later, and eventually establish its own space station.

Source: Taipei Times July 22, 2019 16:07 UTC