The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has released new images of Chandrayaan-2 satellite, a week prior to its launch.

The mission to the moon is all set to lift off on 15 July from Sriharikota using the country’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark 3, reported NDTV.

The Rs1bn ($145m) mission will carry an orbiter, a lander called Vikram and a lunar rover known as Pragyaan. It is expected to touch down on the Moon’s surface on 6 September.

The 1,471kg lander will measure the presence of moonquakes and the temperature of the lunar surface while the 27kg Pragyaan rover is equipped with cameras and instruments to analyse the lunar soil.

Chandrayaan-2 is a robotic mission and will not carry human beings to the Moon’s surface.

With a total weight of 3.8t, the Indian-built satellite will carry a suite of 14 scientific experiments.

ISRO chairman Dr K Sivan was quoted by NDTV as saying: “Soft landing on the Moon would be the most terrifying aspect of the mission as India has never attempted a soft landing on another heavenly body.

“India is going where no country has ever gone before, very close to the South Pole of the Moon on the near side and this prestigious national mission should unveil many secrets of the moon.”

With a life of 14 Earth days, the rover will not travel more than half a kilometre on the Moon’s surface.

Last month, Sivan said that the country will establish its own space station within seven years, marking its biggest leap so far in space exploration after launching probes to the Moon and Mars.