New Delhi [India]: The launch of Chandrayaan-2, which was called off earlier due to a technical glitch, has been rescheduled to July 22 at 2:43 pm Indian Standard Time (IST), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Thursday. Late on Monday night, in a last-minute revision of schedule, the ISRO announced that the launch of India's second lunar mission 'Chandrayaan-2' has been called off due to a technical snag.
"Chandrayaan-2 launch, which was called off due to a technical snag on July 15, 2019, is now rescheduled at 2:43 pm IST on Monday, July 22, 2019. #Chandrayaan2 #GSLVMkIII #ISRO," ISRO informed in a tweet on Thursday. "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. The revised launch date will be announced later," the ISRO had 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.
