Kicking off the run-up to the film's release on August 15, Akshay Kumar launched the teaser of Mission Mangal yesterday. The superstar plays a senior scientist in the drama, that shines a spotlight on India's Mangalyaan mission and the role of women engineers in its success. Few know that Jagan Shakti, who makes his directorial debut with the Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu and Sonakshi Sinha starrer, is related to one of the scientists who were part of ISRO's team for the Mars Mission. The director, we hear, spent almost three years conducting his research with the help of the scientist before approaching Kumar with the script.