India’s Mars Orbiter Mission, Mangalyaan, entered the orbit of the Mars on Wednesday at the end of a 300-day voyage, making India the first country to successfully send a mission to the Red Planet on the first attempt and helping carve a distinguished spot for the nation in the global space community. On a day of crowning glory for India’s scientific community, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) became only the fourth agency—after those of the US, Russia and Europe—to either send a successful probe to Mars or make a landing on it. “History has been achieved today. Despite all our limitations, we have gone beyond the boundaries of human enterprise. The odds were stacked against us, but we achieved success in our maiden attempt with an indigenous spacecraft developed in a pan-Indian effort,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was present at the Telemetry Tracking and Command Network in Bangalore to witness the event.
Mars Orbiter Mission is Isro’s first interplanetary mission to Mars with an unmanned spacecraft designed to orbit the Red Planet in an elliptical orbit.
Things to know about Mars Orbiter Mission:-
What is the Mars Orbiter Mission?
Mars Orbiter Mission is Indian Space Research Organisation’s (Isro’s) first interplanetary mission to Mars with an unmanned spacecraft designed to orbit the Red Planet in an elliptical orbit.
Which other countries have successfully sent such orbiters to Mars?
Three space agencies have sent orbiters to Mars successfully. These are the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), European Space Agency, and Russian Federal Space Agency. India will be fourth in the world to send a successful Mars Orbiter, and the first Asian country to do so.
How much did the Mars Orbiter Mission cost?
The Mars Orbiter Mission cost Rs.450 crore ($74 million). Nasa’s Maven orbiter which was successfully inserted into the Martian orbit on Monday cost $671 million.
Why is it significant for India?
This is India’s first interplanetary mission and demonstrates Isro’s technological capability in successfully sending a spacecraft to Mars after anticipating the challenges posed by near Earth and near Mars conditions, and a communication gap of atleast 12 minutes.
How tough is the Mars Orbiter Insertion?
When approaching the Martian orbit, velocity of the Orbiter has to be reduced precisely for it to be captured by the Martian orbit. Around 60% of the Mars Missions have failed at this point. If the speed is not adjusted precisely, then either the Orbiter will crash on Mars or it will fly by it and be lost in space.
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