Mangalyaan's satellite image of Cyclone Helen

India’s Mars Orbiter spacecraft Mangalyaan has beamed back its first set of images of earth and this (first ever image released by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) taken from Mangalyaan) has happened to be of Cyclone Helen which is about to make landfall along India’s east coast over Andhra Pradesh. The tropical storm will cause heavy to very heavy rain in Andhra Pradesh.

Mangalyaan tricolor camera namely Mars Color Camera took the image on Tuesday, November 19, which shows almost the entire Indian sub continent and some parts of Africa. "We are checking the equipment on board the spacecraft. This picture is from Mars Color Camera, fitted on Mars Orbiter spacecraft taken on Tuesday at 1.50 PM from over 67,975 km altitude with a resolution of 3.53 km," ISRO sources said. ISRO has received more than one picture but it has released only one of Cyclone Helen on its official website.

Mangalyaan was launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on 5th of November and is expected to reach the Mars orbit by September 2014. Mangalyaan is meant to monitor the atmosphere of Mars and its two natural satellites Phobios and Deimos.

 

Photograph by ISRO