India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission was launched by the LVM3 rocket on 14 July 2023.
LVM3, previously called the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III, is the Indian Space Research Organisation’s heavy-lift launch vehicle. It is designed to carry substantial payloads into low Earth orbit and to support missions beyond Earth orbit.
The rocket used for Chandrayaan-3 was the LVM3-M4, launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Its three-stage configuration combined two solid strap-on boosters, a liquid core stage and a cryogenic upper stage. The launch placed the spacecraft into an initial Earth orbit before a series of manoeuvres sent it toward the Moon.
A common mix-up is confusing LVM3 with the PSLV, another major Indian rocket. PSLV launched Chandrayaan-1 in 2008, while LVM3 launched Chandrayaan-2 in 2019 and Chandrayaan-3 in 2023. Chandrayaan-3 later achieved a soft landing near the Moon’s south polar region, making India the fourth country to land on the Moon.