India delays mission to lay a rover on the moon

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The lunar mission, called Chandrayaan-2, which means "lunar vehicle" in Sanskrit, would have been a first for the country trying to become a space superpower.

Only three countries, the United States, the former Soviet Union and China, have made a soft landing on the surface of the moon.

Only 56 minutes before the planned takeoff of the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). called the mission "as a precautionary measure".

A new launch date will be announced later, added the agency.

The mission was presented as an important step for India, which is trying to achieve its space ambitions. Over the last 10 years, the Indian Space Agency has launched several missions in space to better understand Mars and the Moon.

The country wants to become a global space power and put Indian astronauts in space by 2022.

The aborted mission comes nearly 50 years after Apollo 11 launched its historic feat: put the first human on the moon.

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Chandrayaan-2, which weighs 3.8 tons and carries 13 payloads, would take about two months to reach the Moon, where it had to position itself in a circular orbit 100 km from its surface.

The mission consisted of three elements: the lunar orbiter, the lander and the mobile, all developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Once in orbit, the lander – named Vikram in honor of the pioneer of the Indian space program Vikram Sarabhai – had to part with the orbiter and land softly on the surface of the moon near its pole South around September 6th.

A robot robot called Pragyan (wisdom) had to deploy and spend a lunar day, 14 Earth days, collection minerals and chemicals samples to examine the composition of the moon's surface. Over the next year, the orbiter would map the lunar surface and study the moon's external atmosphere.

In addition to coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the landing on Apollo's moon, the aborted launch comes as other space agencies revisit the idea of ​​sending humans to the moon and beyond.

NASA has touted a bold plan to bring American astronauts back to the moon by 2024, China is building its own space station and Russia recently announced plans to send tourists into space over the next two years.

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