Chandrayaan-2 mission launch rehearsal completed, says ISRO

New Delhi, July 21: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said that the launch rehearsal of the Chandrayaan-2 mission has been completed and the performance was normal. Chandrayaan-2 was scheduled to be launched on July 15 but the launch was aborted 56 minutes and 24 seconds before lift-off at 1.55 am following a technical problem in its most powerful rocket GSLV-Mk-III, dubbed 'Baahubali'. The launch has now been rescheduled for launch on July 22.

"Launch rehearsal of GSLVMkIII-M1 / Chandrayaan2 mission completed, performance normal ISRO," tweeted ISRO.

Earlier in the day, former Isro Chairman AS Kiran Kumar said that the Chandrayaan-2 mission is ready to be launched on July 22.

Chandrayaan-2, which has home-grown technology, will explore a region of the Moon where no mission has ever set foot.

The spacecraft consists of an orbiter, a lander and a rover together referred to as "composite body".

The probe's total mass is 3.8 ton and it is expected to land on Moon's South Polar Region on September 6 or 7 this year.

It will be the first Indian expedition to attempt a soft landing on the lunar surface. This mission will make India the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to carry out a soft landing on the Moon.