The countdown for the launch of the Chandrayaan-2 mission, India's second mission to the Moon, has started and it will be launched at 2.43 pm on Monday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

"The 20-hour countdown begun at 6.43 pm yesterday. It will be launched at 2.43 pm tomorrow. All arrangements are going well," the Isro chief said.

During the countdownperiod, the rocket and spacecraft's systems will undergo checks and fuelling.The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark 3 (GSLV-Mk 3) rocket withChandrayaan-2 spacecraft was originally scheduled for flight at 2:51 am on July15. However, the Chandrayaan-2 launch was postponed after a technical snag wasdetected in the launch vehicle an hour prior to the rocket lift-off.

Speaking of the technical glitch in the launch vehicle, a retired chief scientist of CSIR Gauhar Raza saif, "ISRO took a very responsible step by calling off the launch on July 15 after the scientists discovered an anomaly in the helium tank.

ISRO later rectified the fault in its 44-metre GSLV-Mk 3 and also successfully completed the launch rehearsal of the Chandrayaan-2 mission launch.