Mangalyaan- India creates history

On September 24,  2014 India created history as India's first Mars mission made its successful entry into the planet's (Mars) orbit in an epic moment for Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The main 440 Newton liquid engine along with eight small thrusters was fired successfully by ISRO for 24 minutes to trim the speed of the craft to allow smooth orbit insertion under Mars' shadow. The agencies in the world to successfully enter the Mars orbit are NASA, the European Space Agency and the former USSR. Now ISRO is a new addition to this list.

NASA's Mariner 9 in 1971 was the first successful mission. The Chinese Yinghuo-1 in 2011 was the most recent failure. Out of 51 missions attempted across the world so far, only 21 have succeeded. A little prior to the ISRO mission, On Sept. 21, 2014 NASA's MAVEN spacecraft approached Mars on a mission to study its atmosphere, NASA's Maven spacecraft entered the orbit of Mars for an in depth study of the red planet's atmosphere after undergoing a 442 million-mile journey that began roughly a year ago, since the mission is on similar lines with Mangalyaan of India therefore, exchange of information is on the cards.

The mission to the red planet is divided into two types

1. Orbiter which orbits the planet
2. Lander which lands on the planet

The mission's primary objective is to test India's ability to place a spacecraft in Martian orbit and the technologies required for a future interplanetary mission. The secondary objective of Mangalyaan is to explore the surface of Mars that will comprise of its morphology, mineralogy and its atmosphere. The five solar-powered instruments aboard Mangalyaan will help in gathering data to help determine how the planet’s (Mars) weather systems work and the water which once existed on the planet in large quantities.

The Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO is now part of an elite group of only three other agencies worldwide to have successfully reached the Red Planet. This golden colored satellite is almost the size of a Nano car. The entire Mars Orbiter Mission cost a record Rs.450 crore or nearly $67 million.

This demonstrates India's technological capabilities and cost effectiveness which is paving the way for faster, cheaper and more durable inter-planetary missions.