With Chandrayaan-2, India was hoping to become the fourth nation besides the United States, Russia and China to soft-land on the moon’s surface. The space program, a source of national pride, has allowed the country to develop more-accurate weather forecasting and improve navigation systems for its missiles. Pallava Bagla, science editor of news channel NDTV, reporting from the site, said the fault appeared to be in the cryogenic engine stage — the final stage of the space launch vehicle. India increased its space budget this year to $1.8 billion but it remains a fraction of what the United States spends. Last year, the prime minister pledged that by 2022, India will send a manned mission into space.

Source: Washington Post July 15, 2019 05:15 UTC