Chandrayaan 2: As the clock keeps ticking, all eyes are on the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Known as India’s biggest space mission, Chandrayaan 2 is poised to launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on 15 July, 2019. The country’s most anticipated space mission has clinched the interest of Indians across all walks of life. Even children and college students are excited about the launch!

Besides being India’s first ever rover-based space mission on Moon, Chandrayaan 2 is poised to be the world’s first expedition to reach the Lunar south polar region! No wonder, movie makers and leading actors are as excited about the launch as the rest of the nation. While Chandrayaan 2’s launch is still some hours away, stories from India’s Mars mission have inspired Bollywood to come up with story ideas.

On July 9, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar’s social media posts sent fans and moviegoers into a tizzy, as he shared the teaser of upcoming film Mission Mangalyaan, which celebrates the contribution of ISRO’s women scientists. Inspired by ISRO’s scientists, the film has an impressive star cast comprising of Vidya Balan, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu, Nithya Menon and Sharman Joshi, along with Akshay Kumar, who plays the lead role.

Through his tweets on the film ‘Mission Mangal’, Akshay Kumar conveyed his expectation that “the film will inspire as much as entertain.”

On a clearly emotional note, the actor went on to state that he has done the film especially for his daughter and children of her age to ‘familiarise them with the true story of India’s Mission to Mars.’

Notably, the most challenging part of the Chandrayaan 2 mission pertains to the soft landing on the moon. Reason? The variation in local gravity has to be factored into the lunar descent trajectory. Further, the onboard NGC and the propulsion system has to work in unison, autonomously and automatically, for a successful landing. Also, the landing site landscape features should not result in a communication shadow area.

According to chairman Dr. K. Sivan’s statement on ISRO’s official Twitter handle, Chandrayaan 2 will also contain three components – Orbiter, Lander and Rover and the total composite module will weigh approximately 3.8 tonnes.

While there are many reasons to study Chandrayaan 2 closely and be inspired by its striking elements, the best way is to breathe life to their sacrifices and their pursuit of excellence through the visual medium of films that can dynamically celebrate the spirit of India’s biggest space mission ever!