NEW DELHI , India ( CNN ) -- India blasted into the international space race Wednesday with the successful launch of an ambitious two-year mission to study the moon 's landscape . The spacecraft carrying India 's first lunar probe , Chandrayaan-1 , lifts off in Sriharikota on Wednesday . The unmanned lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1 , or `` moon craft '' in ancient Sanskrit , launched at 6:20 a.m. ( 8:50 p.m . ET ) from the Sriharikota space center in southern India . The mission seeks high-resolution imaging of the moon 's surface , especially the permanently shadowed polar regions , according to the Indian Space Research Organization . It will also search for evidence of water or ice and attempt to identify the chemical breakdown of certain lunar rocks , the group said . Despite the numerous missions to the moon over the past 50 years , `` we really do n't have a good map , '' said Miles O'Brien , CNN chief technology and environment correspondent . `` The goal is to come up with a very intricate , three-dimensional map of the moon . '' The Chandrayaan-1 is carrying payloads from the United States , European Union countries Germany , Britain , Sweden and Bulgaria , and India plans to share the data from the mission with other programs , including NASA . Watch the launch of India 's first lunar mission » . ISRO said on its Web site that the mission would lay the groundwork for future lunar missions and `` probe the physical characteristics of the lunar surface in greater depth than previous missions by other nations . '' `` It will also give us a deeper understanding about the planet Earth itself or its origins , '' a statement on the Web site said . `` Earlier missions did not come out with a full understanding of the moon and that is the reason scientists are still interested . This will lay the foundation for bigger missions and also open up new possibilities of international networking and support for planetary programs . '' Until now , India 's space launches have been more practical , with weather warning satellites and communiations systems , The Associated Press cited former NASA associated administrator Scott Pace as saying . To date , only the U.S. Russia , the European Space Agency , Japan and China have sent missions to the moon , according to AP . Critics of the mission have questioned its $ 80 million price tag , saying the money should have been spent by the government to improve education and fight poverty . But , `` there are scientists that would argue that there are plenty of things we do n't know about the moon ... and India might have the know-how '' to find answers , said CNN 's Sara Sidner in New Delhi . The United States and the Soviet Union dominated the field of lunar exploration from the late 1950s . The United States is preparing for its own mission slated for next spring -- the first U.S. lunar mission in more than a decade , according to NASA . Soviet spacecraft were the first to fly by , land on and orbit the moon . Luna 1 , launched on January 2 , 1959 , and sped by the moon two days later . Luna 2 was launched on an impact mission on September 12 , 1959 , striking the surface two days later . Luna 9 launched on January 31 , 1966 , becoming the first craft to successfully land on the moon and send back data , touching down on the surface on January 31 , 1966 , and transmitting until February 3 , 1967 , when its batteries ran out . Luna 10 was launched March 31 , 1966 , entered lunar orbit on April 3 , and operated for 56 days . But the United States ' Apollo missions were the first manned missions to reach the moon , culminating with six missions that set down on the surface . The first , Apollo 11 , left earth on July 16 , 1969 , and landed astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin on the lunar surface on July 20 while command module pilot Michael Collins orbited above . The astronauts returned safely to earth on July 24 . Most recently India 's fellow Asian nations , China and Japan , put lunar orbiters in place . Japan launched the Kaguya orbiter in October 2007 , followed by China 's launch of the Chang ' e mission a few weeks later . Watch what is shaping up to be a new space race » . `` Each nation is doing its own thing to drive its research technology for the well-being of that nation , '' AP quoted Charles Vick , a space analyst for the Washington think tank GlobalSecurity.org , as saying . Copyright 2008 CNN . All rights reserved.This material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . Associated Press contributed to this report .
NEW : Chandrayaan-1 is carrying payloads from the U.S. , EU and Bulgaria . Two-year mission seeks high-resolution , 3-D imaging of the moon 's surface . Chandrayaan-1 follows Japan and China 's missions to the moon . Score: 6