(Image source from: Al Jazeera)

India’s space agency Satish Dhawan Space Center (SHAR) in Sriharikota said it delayed the launch of its second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, in the early hours of Monday due to a "technical snag" which was observed less than an hour before the scheduled liftoff.

India wants the Chandrayaan-2 - or Moon Chariot 2 - mission to make it only the fourth country after Russia, the United States, and China to land a craft on the lunar surface.

Countdown at the space center was halted 56 minutes and 24 seconds before the planned liftoff at 2:51 a.m. on Sunday.

"A technical snag was observed in launch vehicle system at T-56 minute," the India Space Research Organization (ISRO) said on Twitter.

"As a measure of abundant precaution, #Chandrayaan2 launch has been called off for today. Revised launch date will be announced later."

A technical snag was observed in launch vehicle system at 1 hour before the launch. As a measure of abundant precaution, #Chandrayaan2 launch has been called off for today. Revised launch date will be announced later.

— ISRO (@isro) July 14, 2019

Officials at the space center on an island off the coast of Andhra Pradesh state said the problem was in the launch vehicle system.

ISRO had announced one hour before launch that the filling of liquid hydrogen fuel had been completed.

The agency did not say when a new launch could be held.

India had spent about $140 million on preparations for Chandrayaan-2 and had hailed the mission as one of the cheapest ever.

A landing on the moon had been scheduled for September 6.

By Sowmya Sangam