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 there 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,” it added, 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.

Last week, the agency said the probe and carrier rocket had been moved to the takeoff area at Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern Hainan province.

As of Wednesday, the takeoff site and equipment were in good condition, with inspections to take place and a launch “scheduled for the coming period”.

The Chang’e-7 delay comes just under two weeks after media reports showed a rocket launched from the Hainan site had exploded, as crowds watched a fiery ball in the sky.

The failed mission involved a Long March 7A carrier rocket, which had lifted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site, state news agency Xinhua said at the time.