India moon mission rocket blasts into space

India has launched its third Moon mission and is hoping to become to the first to land near its south pole – which has rarely been explored.

If successful, the Chandrayaan-3's orbiter, lander and a rover are due to touch down on the Moon's surface on 23 or 24 August.

The rocket set off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre space centre just after 09:05 GMT (10:05 BST; 14:35 local time).

The launch by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is the country's first major mission since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government announced policies to spur investment in the space industry.