India set to re-attempt Moon mission

International Desk: India is set to re-attempt the launch of its second lunar mission a week after it halted the scheduled blast-off due to a technical snag.

Chandrayaan-2 will be launched at 14:43 local time (09:13 GMT) on Monday, space agency Isro said.

It added the spacecraft was ready "to take a billion dreams to the Moon - now stronger than ever before".

The space agency hopes the $150m (£120m) mission will be the first to land on the Moon's South Pole.

The countdown on 15 July was stopped 56 minutes before launch after a "technical snag was observed in [the] launch vehicle system", according to Isro. Indian media have reported that a leak from a helium gas bottle in the cryogenic engine of the rocket was to blame.

Isro thanked people for supporting the mission despite the delay.

Agencies

risingbd/Dhaka/July 22, 2019/Nasim