Chandrayaan 3 moon landing LIVE: Updates as space agency ISRO attempts India's first ever lunar trip

India's previous attempt to land on the lunar south pole failed in 2019.

Chandrayaan-2 successfully deployed an orbiter but its lander and rover were destroyed in a crash near where Chandrayaan-3 will attempt a touchdown.

Rough terrain is one of the complications for a south pole landing.

ISRO scientists say they have made adjustments that make it more likely the current mission will land successfully. That includes a system to broaden the potential landing zone. The lander has also been equipped with more fuel and sturdier legs for impact.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14 from India's main space port in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Since then, it has looped through progressively wider-ranging orbits of Earth, transferred to a lunar orbit and emerged as a focus of national pride and global interest after Russia's failed attempt to beat it to a landing on the moon's south pole.

It will attempt to land there at about 18:04 IST (13:34 BST) on Wednesday.

The Chandrayaan-3 is aimed at the lunar south pole, a region with water ice, or frozen water, that could be a source of oxygen, fuel and water for future moon missions or a more permanent moon colony.

If it lands successfully, the Chandrayaan-3 is expected to remain functional for two weeks, running a series of experiments including a spectrometer analysis of the mineral composition of the lunar surface.

The Chandrayaan-3 lander stands about two metres tall and has a mass of just over 1,700 kg (3,747.86 lb), roughly on par with an SUV. It is designed to deploy a smaller, 26-kg lunar rover.