Tech Snag Delays Chandrayaan-2 Launch
ISRO’s public relations officer (PRO) Guruprasad said that the revised launch date will be announced later.
“A technical snag was observed in launch vehicle system at 1 hour before the launch. As a measure of abundant precaution, #Chandrayaan2 launch has been called off for today. Revised launch date will be announced later” ISRO tweeted minutes ahead of the scheduled launch on Monday.
The country’s second lunar spacecraft was to be launched onboard a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk-III from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh at 2:51 am.
Chandrayaan-2, which has home-grown technology, will explore a region of Moon where no mission has ever set foot. According to ISRO Chairman Kailasavadivoo Sivan, the landing site, at a latitude of about 70 degrees south, is the southernmost for any mission till date.
The spacecraft consists of an orbiter, a lander and a rover together referred to as “composite body”. The probe’s total mass is 3.8 ton and it is expected to land on Moon’s south polar region on September 6 or 7 this year.
It will be the first Indian expedition to attempt a soft landing on the lunar surface. This mission will make India the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to carry out a soft landing on Moon. (ANI)
