(Photo: ANI)

Chandrayaan, which means “moon vehicle” in Sanskrit, blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota in southern Andhra Pradesh state at just after 2:30 p.m. local time (5 a.m. ET).

Crowds gathered at the space center to watch the history-making launch and more than 1 million people tuned in to watch on YouTube.

The Indian Space Research Organization confirmed on Twitter later Friday that Chandrayaan-3 is in “precise orbit” and has “begun its journey to the moon.”

It added that the health of the spacecraft is “normal.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “Chandrayaan-3 scripts a new chapter in India’s space odyssey. The craft is expected to land on the moon on August 23.