Chandrayan – 2: ISRO calls off moon mission just before launch

Bengaluru, July 15, 2019 : 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 as a billion people were glued to their phones and television to watch the historic take off.

Chandrayaan-2 is India’s second lunar exploration mission after Chandrayaan-1. Developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation, the mission is planned to be launched to the Moon by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III. It includes a lunar orbiter, lander and rover, all developed indigenously. The main scientific objective is to map the location and abundance of lunar water.

Chandrayaan-2 will attempt a soft landing of a lander and rover in a high plain between two craters, Manzinus C and Simpelius N, at a latitude of about 70° south. The wheeled rover will move on the lunar surface and will perform on-site chemical analysis. It can relay data to Earth through the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter and lander, which will fly on the same launch.

Launch of Chandrayaan-2 was originally scheduled for 15 July 2019 but due to technical snag it was cancelled few minutes before launch and a revised date will be announced by ISRO. A successful landing would make India the 4th country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon, after the space agencies of the USSR, USA and China. If successful, Chandrayaan-2 will be the second mission to soft land near the lunar south pole after the Chang’e 4, a Chinese spacecraft, which landed in that region on 3 January 2019. Although, Chandrayaan-2 will land at a latitude further south.