NEW DELHI: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has launched the Chandrayaan-2, the first Indian moon landing mission.
Chandrayaan is designed to land on the lunar south pole and send a rover to explore water deposits that were confirmed by a previous mission that orbited the moon.
India’s launch a week ago (July 15) was called off less than an hour before liftoff due to a “technical snag.”
Indian media reports said the launch was aborted after ISRO scientists identified a leak while filling helium in the cryogenic engine of the rocket. The ISRO neither confirmed nor denied the reports, saying instead that the problem had been identified and corrected.
The spacecraft carries an orbiter, a lander and a rover which will move around on the lunar surface for 14 earth days. It will take around 47 days to travel and land on the moon in September.
India plans to send its first manned spaceflight by 2022.
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