China says unmanned moon mission delayed over 'launch conditions'

China's manned space agency said on Sunday it is delaying a research moon mission that is part of Beijing's efforts to land a crew by 2030, less than two weeks after a rare launch failure.



The agency said after a "comprehensive assessment" the mission, which involved sending the Chang'e-7 lunar probe on a Long March 5 carrier rocket, "does not meet launch conditions and cannot take place during the planned window this year".



The decision to delay was "based on the principle of prudence, reliability and absolute mission success," without providing further details on what conditions weren't met or when the launch would be rescheduled.



The mission - meant to search for water on the moon's south pole - was scheduled to depart either over the weekend or Monday, according to media reports.