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India aborts moon mission launch over ‘technical glitch’

The agency says a new launch date would be announced.
The agency says a new launch date would be announced. The agency says a new launch date would be announced.

India has called off the launch of a moon mission to explore the lunar south pole.

The Chandrayaan-2 mission was aborted less than an hour before take-off on Monday.

Indian Space Research Organisation spokesman BR Guruprasad says a “technical snag” was observed in the 640-ton launch-vehicle system.

The agency says a new launch date would be announced.

Chandrayaan, the word for “moon craft” in Sanskrit, is designed for a soft landing on the far side of the moon and to send a rover to explore water deposits confirmed by a previous Indian space mission.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is eager to show off the country’s security and technology prowess.

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