The Indian Space Research Organization said that fueling the 640-ton rocket launcher with liquid oxygen had begun in preparation for the Chandrayaan-2 mission liftoff scheduled for 2:43 p.m. (0913 GMT), a day after scientists celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission that put American astronauts on the moon.
With CHandrayaan-2, India will become only the fourth country in the world to place a rover on the Moon. Previously, the United States, Russia and China have landed rovers on the Moon.
The Chandrayaan-2 launch will take place at 2:43 pm this afternoon. The Chandrayaan-2 launch will be live steamed on multiple platforms.
The Chandrayaan-2 live steaming will begin after 2 pm, closer to the launch time. Among the television channels that will show live visuals of the Chandrayaan-2 launch will be India Today TV, Aaj Tak and the public broadcaster Doordarshan.
India’s launch a week ago was called off less than an hour before liftoff due to a “technical snag.”
Indian media reports said the launch was aborted after ISRO scientists identified a leak while filling helium in the cryogenic engine of the rocket. The ISRO neither confirmed nor denied the reports, saying instead that the problem had been identified and corrected.
The spacecraft carries an orbiter, a lander and a rover which will move around on the lunar surface for 14 earth days. It will take around 47 days to travel and land on the moon in September.
India’s Chandrayaan-1 mission orbited the moon in 2008 and helped confirm the presence of water.
