Chandrayaan 2 launch put off due to technical snag, ISRO to announce new date soon

A technical snag was observed in the launch vehicle just one hour prior to the scheduled liftoff.

Image Credit: ISRO@Twitter

SRIHARIKOTA: The launch of Chandrayaan 2 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in the wee hours of Monday morning was put off after a technical snag was observed one hour before the scheduled liftoff.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that the launch had to be postponed due to a technical snag in the launch vehicle. "As a measure of abundant precaution, #Chandrayaan2 launch has been called off for today. The revised launch date will be announced later," it announced.

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 (@isro) July 14, 2019

Chandrayaan 2 mission was scheduled to be launched at 2:51 AM on July 15 onboard heavy-lift rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle - Mark III (GSLV Mk III), nicknamed as 'Bahubali'. The soft landing on Moon's surface was likely to be on September 6 or September 7. The date of the soft landing now would have to be recalculated.

Chandrayaan 2, the most ambitious lunar mission of the country, will explore the parts of Moon which have never been explored in the past - the south polar region. According to eminent space scientists, Chandrayaan 2 is a mission which has been described as one of the most complex ever undertaken by ISRO. The main objective of the latest Moon mission is to carry out various experiments to understand the extent and significance of the presence of water on the celestial body as confirmed by the Chandrayaan 1 mission. This is also for the first time that India is trying to land a robotic rover on Moon.