Chandrayaan-3, ISRO’s third lunar mission, will be launched on 14 July at 2:35 PM.

As India waits with bated breath for the launch, here is a history of India’s foray into the moon.

Chandrayaan-1 was India’s first mission to the moon. It was launched on a PSLV rocket on 22 October 2008.

The satellite made over 3,400 orbits around the Moon.The orbiter discovered water on the moon.

Chandrayaan-2 was launched on 22 July 2019 at a cost of Rs 978 crore.

The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft consisted of an orbiter, a lander (Vikram) and a rover (Pragyan).

The aim was to soft land Vikram on the lunar surface and deploy Pragyaan to carry out scientific experiments.

Unfortunately, the lander experienced a hard landing, which destroyed the rover.

The orbiter was successful, placed in the desired orbit and will be used by Chandrayaan-3.

Chandrayaan-2 was a fully indigenous mission and the first to be led by women scientists.

Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-up to Chandrayaan-2, and a result of four years of efforts by ISRO.

It is an attempt to land on the moon and demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface.

Chandrayaan-3 consists of a lander module, propulsion module and a rover.

Now, Chandrayaan-3 will complete the mission started by Chandrayaan-2.