Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) low-cost mission crowned India as the first country to execute such a project in its first attempt. The Mangalyaan aims to study Mars' surface and mineral composition, and scan its atmosphere for methane, a chemical strongly tied to life on Earth. It cost roughly a tenth of NASA's Mars mission Maven that successfully entered Mars orbit on September 21.
Why Mars?
Mars is supposed to be the best choice for exploration among all the eight planets of our Solar System, as it is similar to the Earth in several manners. Now let us have a look at why the space scientists around the world are only dodging the Mars:
- Mars is at the ideal distance from the Earth, as it is neither too close nor too far
- Earth is tilted at 23.5 degrees, while Mars is also tilted at 25.2 degrees
- Length of the day is almost same with 24:39:35 against 2400 hours on Earth
- Temperatures are also expected to hover between -100°C and 27°C
- It is believed that Mars possesses several gasses that are similar to the Earth. Some are Carbon Dioxide, Argon and Methane. Traces of Oxygen are also expected on the planet
- Weather is likely to be similar to the Earth, in terms of extreme cold. However, Mars is much colder than the Earth
- Signs of frozen water have also been found
The state-run ISRO successfully ignited the main 440 Newton liquid engine and eight small thrusters that fired for 24-minutes and trimmed the speed of the craft to allow smooth orbit insertion under Mars' shadow.
Indian scientists had successfully tested the main engine of the spacecraft bound for Mars on September 22 and performed a course correction that had put the low-cost project on track to enter the red planet's orbit. It was launched in November last year.