Mangalyaan being launched from Sriharikota on Nov 5, 2013
New Delhi:
India's maiden mission to Mars, Mangalyaan, successfully completed its first mid-course correction at around 6:30 am today. Mangalyaan is now in uncharted territory for the Indian Space Research Organization or ISRO as no Indian spacecraft has ever travelled so far away.
It was about 2.9 million kilometers away from Earth when this tricky operation was completed by ISRO this morning. The spacecraft was first re-oriented and then its smaller rockets were fired to give it the correct nudge.
The Rs 450 crore mission is expected to reach Mars in September 2014 making India the first Asian nation to carry out this long sojourn.
However, the risks are many and no country till date has succeeded in reaching Mars on its maiden attempt. More than half of all missions to Mars have ended in failure, including China's in 2011 and Japan's in 1998.
The mission to Mars has made international headlines, at least in part for its cost-efficiency.
It was about 2.9 million kilometers away from Earth when this tricky operation was completed by ISRO this morning. The spacecraft was first re-oriented and then its smaller rockets were fired to give it the correct nudge.
The Rs 450 crore mission is expected to reach Mars in September 2014 making India the first Asian nation to carry out this long sojourn.
However, the risks are many and no country till date has succeeded in reaching Mars on its maiden attempt. More than half of all missions to Mars have ended in failure, including China's in 2011 and Japan's in 1998.
The mission to Mars has made international headlines, at least in part for its cost-efficiency.
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