UK camera in India Moon mission

The unmanned rocket successfully launched on a two-year mission Watch the launch

A sophisticated X-ray camera built in Oxfordshire has blasted off on board India's first mission to the Moon.

The X-Ray Spectrometer was built at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Didcot and will measure X-rays to map the surface composition of the Moon.

The camera was on board the unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft, which launched successfully from southern Andhra Pradesh in the early hours.

It is the first time the UK and India have collaborated in space science.

Dr Ian Crawford, who leads the team that developed the C1XS camera, said: "There is still a lot we don't know about the Moon.

"Accurate maps of the surface composition will help us unravel its internal structure and geological history.

"Among other things this will help us better understand the origin of the Earth-Moon system."

The two-year mission launch was broadcast live on national TV in India and is expected to cost 3.8bn rupees (£45m).

A robotic probe, with the C1XS Spectrometer onboard, will orbit the Moon compiling a 3D atlas of the lunar surface and mapping elements and minerals.