India launched its first mission to the moon on October 22, with hopes of achieving high resolution images of the moon’s topography and joining the international space race. The unmanned lunar orbiter is called Chandrayaan-1, which means “moon craft” in ancient Sanskrit.

Scientists clapped and cheered as Chandrayaan ascended from the Sriharikota space center in southern India.

Indian Space Research Organization chairman G. Madhavan Nair said the purpose of the mission is to “unravel the mystery of the moon.”

The two-year mission seeks high resolution imaging of the moon’s surface, especially the permanently shadowed polar regions. It will also search for evidence of water or ice and attempt to identify the chemical breakdown of certain lunar rocks.

To date only the US, Russia, the European Space Agency, Japan and China have sent missions to the moon.

Until now, India’s space launches have mainly carried weather warning satellites and communication systems. The country is hoping that the moon mission will further enhance its status as a political and military clout.

While the technology involved in reaching the moon has not changed much since the Soviet Union and US did it over four decades ago, analysts say that new mapping equipment allows the exploration of new areas, including below the surface.

India plans to use the 3,080-pound lunar probe to create a high resolution map of the lunar surface and minerals below. Two of the mapping instruments are a joint project with NASA.

Last year, Japan sent up the Kaguya spacecraft and China’s Chang’e-1 entered lunar orbit. While those missions took high resolution pictures of the moon, they are not as comprehensive as those that will be taken by Chandrayaan-1 or NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter which is scheduled to be launched next year, according to former NASA associate administrator Scott Pace, director of space policy at the George Washington University.