First images: Chandrayaan 2 getting ready for launch

India's second mission to the moon, Chandrayaan 2, will be launched from Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota on board GSLV Mk-III on July 15.

The first images of mission satellite are released by the Indian Space Research Organisation.

The Indian space agency is all set to embark on its most complex mission.

The landing on the moon near the South Pole, an uncharted territory so far, would be on September 6 or 7, ISRO Chairman K Sivan had told reporters last month.

The spacecraft, with a mass of 3.8 tonne, has three modules -- Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan).

Sivan said Orbiter would have eight payloads, Lander three and Rover two.

The mission cost of Chandrayaan 2 with regard to the satellite was Rs 603 crore, he noted. The cost of GSLV MK III is Rs 375 crore.

According to the ISRO, Orbiter, with scientific payloads, would orbit around the moon. Lander would soft land on the moon at a predetermined site and deploy Rover.

The scientific payloads on board Orbiter, Lander and Rover are expected to perform mineralogical and elemental studies of the lunar surface.

The Orbiter and Lander modules would be interfaced mechanically and stacked together as an integrated module and accommodated inside the GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle. Rover is housed inside Lander.

After the launch into an earth-bound orbit by GSLV Mk-III, the integrated module would reach the moon orbit using the orbiter propulsion module and subsequently, Lander would separate from Orbiter and soft land at the predetermined site, close to lunar South Pole, the ISRO said.

Rover would roll out for carrying out scientific experiments on the lunar surface, it said, noting that instruments were also mounted on Lander and Orbiter for carrying out scientific experiments.

Chandrayaan-2 is an advanced version of the previous Chandrayaan-1 mission, which was launched about 10 years ago.

With agency inputs.