印度差點成爲第4個登月的國家

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.

印度的登月任務在發射前不到一小時因技術故障取消了，這次任務原計劃是要踏上無人涉足的月球南極。

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.

此次任務原定於當地時間02:51在金奈北邊的斯里哈里科塔航天發射中心發射，是印度迄今最大的項目。

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.

距離發射56分24秒時倒計時停止，控制室向外發送的媒體資料也中斷了。沒過多久印度空間研究組織證實當天的發射任務已取消。

“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.

該部門發推文說：“倒計時56分鐘時運載火箭系統發現技術故障。‘月船2號’今天的發射任務已取消，以策萬全。”

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

後又補充說，晚些時候會宣佈變更後的發射日期。

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

此次任務還有一個十分鐘的備用窗口期，週二可以發射。

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號是印度首次嘗試在月球表面着陸，此前只有俄羅斯、美國和中國做到了。如果本次任務成功，也會是首次登陸無人涉足的月球南極地區，科學家希望能在那兒收集月球礦物和化學成分的信息，還要找水。

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.

這艘4噸的航天器裝備了一個月球軌道器、一個着陸器和一個月球車，計劃要在月球停留兩週分析月球表面。