NEW DELHI: The Chandrayaan-2 mission has been scheduled to be launched at 2:43 pm (IST on Monday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andra Pradesh’s Sriharikota.

The countdown for the launch of India’s second mission to the Moon begun at 6:43 pm (IST) today, according to Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) chairman K Sivan.

According to Sivan, the 20-hour countdown has begun at 6.43 pm (IST) on Sunday and will be launched at 2.43 pm on Monday adding that all arrangements have been made.

The spacecraft’s systems and the rocket will undergo fuelling and checks during the countdown period. The launch was originally scheduled on July 15. However, it was postponed following a technical snag in the launch vehicle.

The Chandrayaan-2, nicknamed ‘Bahubali’, weighs around 640-tonne. The mission to be launched on Monday will make the country the fourth one after the US, Russia, and China to carry out soft landing on the Moon. (Agencies)