The countdown for the launch of India’s first space mission to Mars began today at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. A spokesman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said over phone this morning that the 56 hours and 30 minutes countdown started as per schedule at 06.08 a.m. He said, it is proceeding smoothly.

ISRO’s workhorse launch vehicle PSLV C25, carrying India’s first inter-planetary satellite Mars Orbiter Mission, is scheduled to lift off at 2.38 p.m. on Tuesday from the spaceport of Sriharikota.The rocket is expected to take over 40 minutes to inject the satellite into Earth’s orbit after the take off. ISRO sources said, once launched, the satellite is expected to go around the Earth for 20-25 days, before embarking on a nine-month voyage to the red planet on December 1 and reach the orbit of the Mars on September 24, 2014.

If India succeeds in the 450-crore rupee mission, it would be the fourth in the world, after the US, Russia and Europe to do so.

The Mars mission will help in deep space communication, navigation,mission planning and management and also to explore mars surface features, study the possibility of minerals and observe the atmosphere in Mars.