The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has begun the countdown to launch the country's prestigious lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2. The countdown began at 6:51 am for the launch which is scheduled to take place at 2:51 am on July 15 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota onboard heavy-lift rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle - Mark III (GSLV Mk III), nicknamed as 'Bahubali'.


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A follow-up to ISRO's Chandrayaan-1 which was launched in 2008, Chandrayaan-2 will aim to take up a detailed study on understanding the origin and evolution of the moon. 



As 9:45 am, ISRO said that the propellant filling of liquid core stage (L110) of GSLV MkIII-M1 is in progress.




ISRO Chairman Dr K Sivan had on Saturday said that the team is trying to ensure that the launch takes place as per schedule. "On July 15 at 2:51 am, we're going to launch the most prestigious mission Chandrayaan-2. GSLV MK-III being used for the mission. After a successful launch, it'll take nearly two months to go and land on Moon near South Pole," Dr K Sivan said


Chandrayaan 2 is India's first rover-based space mission. The soft landing on Moon's surface is likely to be on September 6 or September 7. One of the most complex missions attempted to date, Chandrayaan 2 weighs 3.8-tonne and consists of an orbiter with eight scientific experiments, a lander with three experiments, a rover with two experiments and an experiment from the US space agency NASA.


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With the Chandrayaan-2 mission, India is trying to become the fourth country after the former Soviet Union, US and China, which have already launched their lunar missions successfully.