ISRO's Chandrayaan 2 launch might take place by the end of the week

The Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO) may be planning to re-launch Chandrayaan 2 as soon as afternoon this Sunday or in the early morning of Monday. There is no official word from ISRO though. The launch of India’s second moon mission was cancelled 56 minutes before liftoff after the fuel was loaded into the GSLV Mk-III, the rocket that will carry ISRO’s payload. ISRO tweeted out saying that they cancelled it because they noticed a drop in pressure in one of the nine helium tanks that are an essential part of the cooling system of the rocket. The pressure drop is indicative of a leak in the system. While not serious, ISRO said they scrubbed the launch out of an “abundance of caution.” A **former ISRO chief** said that such glitches happen and Chandryaan-1 had a similar problem. [caption id=“attachment_6993611” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] GSLV MkIII at the launch pad at Sriharikota. Image credit: ISRO[/caption] Sources told TOI that engineers were working on rectifying the issue and they have two possible schedules. An announcement could be made after the investigation of the rocket is completed. A source told IANS that the launch will take place between 20 and 23 July. This will be India’s second mission to the Moon and will have three components — an orbiter with a life span of one year, and a lander and rover with a mission life of 14 days. ISRO had made preparations for around 5,000 people to watch the event live at Sriharikota and President Ram Nath Kovind was present at the launch.