India reschedules launch of its moon mission for Monday

Published July 18, 2019
The mission was called off less than an hour before liftoff of the 640-ton, 14-story rocket launcher earlier this week. — AFP/File
The mission was called off less than an hour before liftoff of the 640-ton, 14-story rocket launcher earlier this week. — AFP/File

India’s space agency said it will launch a spacecraft to the south pole of the moon on Monday after an aborted effort this week.

The Indian Space Research Organisation said that the Chandrayaan-2 launch is now rescheduled at 2:43pm on Monday. It said on Thursday that an expert committee identified the root cause of the previous technical snag and all corrective actions were now implemented.

The mission was called off less than an hour before liftoff of the 640-ton, 14-story rocket launcher on Monday.

Chandrayaan, the Sanskrit word for “moon craft,” is designed to make a soft landing on the lunar south pole and send a rover to explore water deposits that were confirmed by a previous orbiting Indian space mission.

The new launch schedule came sooner than expected.

Pallava Bagla, a science editor of the New Delhi Television news channel, had earlier said that launch windows would have to meet several technical criteria and it could take weeks or months for a new date.

Dr K. Sivan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, said that the around $140 million Chandrayaan-2 mission was the nation’s most prestigious to date, in part because of the technical complexities of soft landing on the lunar surface - an event he described as “15 terrifying minutes.”

If India did manage the soft landing, it would be only the fourth country to do so after the US, Russia and China.

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.