Indian PM, president congratulate scientists for Moon Mission-2

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the country's scientists for the successful launch of the Moon Mission-2, or Chandrayaan-2, on Monday.

A man at New Delhi's Nehru Planetarium, takes pictures of a web cast of the lift off of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)'s Geosynchronous Satellite launch Vehicle (GSLV) MkIII carrying Chandrayaan-2 from Satish Dhawan Space center in Sriharikota, India, Monday, July 22, 2019. India's space agency says it has launched an unmanned spacecraft to the far side of the moon a week after aborting the mission due to a technical problem. [Photo: AP/Manish Swarup]

"Chandrayaan-2 is unique because it will explore and perform studies on the south pole region of lunar terrain which is not explored and sampled by any past mission. This Mission will offer new knowledge about the Moon," tweeted Modi.

In another tweet, Modi said, "The launch of Chandrayaan-2 illustrates the prowess of our scientists and the determination of 130 crore (1.3 billion) Indians to scale new frontiers of science. Every Indian is immensely proud today!"

President Ram Nath Kovind described the country's second Moon Mission as a "proud moment" for all Indians. "The historic launch of Chandrayaan-2 from Sriharikota is a proud moment for all Indians. Congratulations to our scientists and engineers for furthering India's indigenous space program. May ISRO continue to master new technologies, and continue to conquer new frontiers," he tweeted.

Wishing success to the mission, the Indian president said in another tweet, "Chandrayaan-2 will be the first spacecraft to land close to the Moon's South Pole in some 50 days from now. The mission is expected to lead to new discoveries and enrich our knowledge systems. I wish the Chandrayaan-2 team every success."

Earlier on Monday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched its Moon Mission-2, or Chandrayaan-2, which was aborted on July 15 due to a technical snag. The feat is being described as a "giant leap."

"GSLV MkIII-M1 lifts-off from Sriharikota carrying Chandrayaan-2," tweeted the ISRO.

The satellite successfully ejected from the launch vehicle and entered the Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), or Earth Orbit, confirmed the ISRO. "GSLV MkIII-M1 successfully injects Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft into Earth Orbit," said ISRO in another tweet.

The rocket GSLV-Mk-III carrying the orbiter, lander Vikram and rover Pragyaan, took off at 14:43 (Indian Standard Time) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, off the Bay of Bengal coast located in India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

The lander and the rover are expected to touch down near the Lunar South Pole in early September, becoming the first ever spacecraft to land in that region. The Lunar South Pole remains unexplored till date.

If successfully carried out, India would become the fourth country, following the United States, Russia and China, to make a soft landing on the moon surface.

The nearly 150 million U.S. dollars worth of moon mission aims at gathering data on water, minerals and rock formations on the lunar surface.

Earlier on Monday, scientists of the ISRO offered prayers at temples near the base and said there would be no repeat of last week's problem. According to ISRO, weighing around 640 tons, the rocket GSLV-Mk-III is 44 meters long or as tall as a 15-storey building. Termed as India's heaviest and biggest rocket, it has the capacity of launching satellites weighing as much as four tons.