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India on Monday canceled the launch of a spacecraft destined to land on the other side of the moon less than an hour before take-off.
The Chandrayaan-2 mission was canceled when a "technical problem" was observed in the 14-story 640-tonne rocket launcher, spokeswoman for the Indian Space Research Organization, B.R. Guruprasad said.
The countdown stopped abruptly at T-56 minutes, 24 seconds, and Guruprasad announced that the agency would soon announce a new launch date.
Launch vehicle of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) wearing Chandrayaan-2 at the Satish Dhawan Space Center after stopping the mission. (AP Photo / Manish Swarup)
Chandrayaan, the word "moon boat" in Sanskrit, is designed for a soft landing on the lunar south pole and to send a rover exploring the water fields confirmed by a previous Indian space mission.
With nuclear-armed India poised to become the fifth largest economy in the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, eagerly nationalistic, looks forward to showcasing the country's security feats. and technology. If India managed to land smoothly, it would be only the fourth to do it after the United States, Russia and China.
Dr. K. Sivan, president of the Indian Space Research Organization, told a press conference last week that the Chandrayaan-2 mission, valued at about $ 140 million, was the most prestigious in the world. country to date, partly because of the technical complexity of the lunar surface – an event that he described as "15 terrifying minutes".
After the countdown began Sunday, Sivan visited two Hindu shrines to pray for the success of the mission.
Virtually since its creation in 1962, India's space program has been criticized as inappropriate for an overpopulated developing country.
Decades of space research, however, has allowed India to develop satellite, communication and remote-sensing technologies to solve everyday problems at home, from forecasting fish migration to forecasting storms and floods.
With the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission this month, the world's largest space agencies are once again looking at the moon, considered an ideal testing ground for the technologies needed to explore the planet. 39, deep space and, with the discovery of confirmed water, as possible pit stop en route.
APOLLO ASTRONAUT RECALLS THE MISSION CONTROL DURING THE LANDING OF THE MOON
"The moon is kind of our backyard drive to go to Mars," said Adam Steltzner, chief engineer of NASA, responsible for his mission to 2020.
Due to repeated delays, India missed the chance to reach the first soft landing near the lunar south pole. Chinese mission Chang & # 39; e 4 landed a lander and rover there last January.
The Indian Chandrayaan-1 mission rotated around the moon in 2008 and helped confirm the presence of water. India's space research organization wants the rover of its new mission to further explore the hidden face of the moon, where scientists believe a water-ice basin could help humans do more than just plant flags at future crewed missions.
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The United States is working to send an inhabited spacecraft to the South Pole of the Moon by 2024.
Modi set 2022 as the first inhabited space flight in India.
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