On this day in space! Oct. 21, 2008: India launches its 1st mission to the moon with Chandrayaan-1
This article commemorates the 2008 launch of Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar mission. It details the mission's objectives, including the deployment of an impact probe and the discovery of water ice on the moon.
Why it matters
It highlights a significant milestone in India's space exploration history and its growing capabilities in deep space research.
India swung for the moon with Chandrayaan-1, its first deep space mission.
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Click for next article Copy link Facebook X Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter On Oct. 21, 2008, the Indian Space Research Organization launched its first mission to the moon. The mission was named Chandrayaan-1, and it consisted of both an orbiter and an impactor.
Chandrayaan-1 launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on an Indian rocket called the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, or PSLV-XL. (Launch occurred at 8:52 p.m. EDT, though it was about 6:22 a.m. local time at the launch site on Oct. 22.)
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