印度差点成为第4个登月的国家

India’s moon mission, destined for the uncharted south pole, has been put on hold less than an hour before take off, following a technical glitch.

印度的登月任务在发射前不到一小时因技术故障取消了，这次任务原计划是要踏上无人涉足的月球南极。

The mission, which was scheduled to launch at 02:51 local time from Sriharikota space centre, north of Chennai, is India’s most ambitious to date.

此次任务原定于当地时间02:51在金奈北边的斯里哈里科塔航天发射中心发射，是印度迄今最大的项目。

At 56.24 minutes from launch, the countdown stop was frozen and a media feed from the control room was cut off. Shortly afterwards, the Indian Space Research Organisation confirmed that the launch had been abandoned for the day.

距离发射56分24秒时倒计时停止，控制室向外发送的媒体资料也中断了。没过多久印度空间研究组织证实当天的发射任务已取消。

“A technical snag was observed in launch vehicle system at T-56 minute. As a measure of abundant precaution, #Chandrayaan2 launch has been called off for today,” the agency tweeted.

该部门发推文说：“倒计时56分钟时运载火箭系统发现技术故障。‘月船2号’今天的发射任务已取消，以策万全。”

A revised launch date will be announced later, it added.

后又补充说，晚些时候会宣布变更后的发射日期。

The mission has another 10-minute back up window in which it could launch on Tuesday.

此次任务还有一个十分钟的备用窗口期，周二可以发射。

Chandrayaan-2 is India’s first attempt at a surface landing on the moon - a feat achieved by only Russia, the US and China. If successful, it would also be the first mission to conduct a surface landing on the little-explored lunar south pole region, where scientists hope to collect information about the moon’s mineral and chemical composition, and search for water.

月船2号是印度首次尝试在月球表面着陆，此前只有俄罗斯、美国和中国做到了。如果本次任务成功，也会是首次登陆无人涉足的月球南极地区，科学家希望能在那儿收集月球矿物和化学成分的信息，还要找水。

The four-tonne spacecraft is equipped with a lunar orbiter, a lander and a rover that is designed to spend two weeks analysing the moon’s surface.

这艘4吨的航天器装备了一个月球轨道器、一个着陆器和一个月球车，计划要在月球停留两周分析月球表面。