As reported by the space agency on Wednesday, India has approved its third moon mission months after its last one failed to successfully land on the moon. This third mission however, will be low cost as compared to the other two.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K Sivan told reporters that the Chandrayaan-3 mission (moon mission) will have a lander and a rover, but not an orbiter.
What happened to Chandrayaan-2?
The Chandrayaan-2 mission in September successfully deployed a lunar orbiter that relays scientific data back to earth however, was unable to place a rover on the lunar surface after a hard landing.
The purpose of the 3rd mission
The moon mission aims to land on the south pole of the moon, where no other lunar mission has gone before. The region is believed to contain water as craters in the region are largely unaffected by the high temperatures of the sun.
Sivan said the third mission will have the same aim.
Only the United States, Russia and China have landed on the moon.