India today successfully launched their first unmanned lunar orbiter called the Chandrayaan-1, which hopes to create an intricate three-dimensional map of the moon by capturing high-resolution topographical images.

The $80 million mission puts India alongside other lunar-explorers such as the United States, Russia, the European Space Agency, China and Japan, but the program has roused criticism that the money would have been better spent on education and fighting poverty.

The mission could lead to breakthroughs here on Earth, with one of the objectives of the mission being to scan for Helium 3. This isotope is rare on Earth but could be a valuable source of future energy, powering nuclear fusion. Whatever happened to their rice power idea?

Chandrayaan, which means “moon craft” in Sanskrit, is carrying payloads from countries around the world including Britain, Germany, Bulgaria, Sweden, as well as the U.S. The craft aims to achieve and maintain a two-year orbit in order to collect valuable data. Its only direct contact with the moon will be via a 30kg Moon Impact Probe (MIP) that will slam into the lunar surface to uncover hidden metals and minerals.

Check out the video below for CNN’s recording of the launch, plus BBC has a video of the rocket filmed during final assembly.

Sources:
CNN and BBC