India dramatically cancelled the launch of a rocket aimed at landing a probe on the Moon less than an hour before the blast-off due to a technical issue.

India intends the Chandrayaan-2— or Moon Chariot 2— mission to make it the fourth nation after Russia, the United States, and China to land a ship on the lunar surface.

Countdown at the Satish Dhawan Space Center was halted 56 minutes and 24 seconds before the planned liftoff at 2:51 am (2121 GMT Sunday).

They said a technical snag was observed in launch vehicle system atT-56 minute.

As a measure of extensive precaution, #Chandrayaan2 launch has been called off . Revised launch date will be announced later. Officials at the space center on an island off the shore of Andhra Pradesh state said the issue was in the launch car scheme.

ISRO had announced one hour before launch that liquid hydrogen fuel filling had been finished.

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

Attention on the Indian mission had risen as the launch was to take place just five days before the 50th anniversary of the history-changing walk on the Moon by American Neil Armstrong.

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

A landing on the Moon was planned for September 6.

By comparison, the United States spent about $25 billion— the equivalent of more than $100 billion in current prices— on 15 Apollo missions in the 1960s and 70s.

Nearly all of Chandrayaan-2’s orbiter, lander and rover were intended and produced in India.

India had prepared its most strong rocket to perform the 2.4-ton orbiter, the GSLV Mk III. The orbiter was to keep circling the Moon for about one year taking pictures of the surface and sending back information on the atmosphere.

The orbiter was to carry the 1.4-tonne lander Vikram— which in turn was to take the 27-kilogram(60-pound) rover Pragyan— to a high plain between two craters on the lunar South Pole.

The solar-powered rover can travel up to 500 meters (yards) and was expected to keep sending back images and data for one lunar day, the equivalent of 14 Earth days.

Pragyan will look for water signs and analyze lunar rocks and soil.

India’s first lunar mission in 2008— Chandrayaan-1— did not land on the Moon, but searched for water using radars.

A soft landing on the Moon would be a huge leap forward in India’s space program. National pride is at stake as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed that a manned mission into space will be launched by 2022.

India also has ambitions to land a probe on Mars. In 2014, India became only the fourth nation to put a satellite into orbit around the Red Planet.