India's maiden mission to Mars, the Mangalyaan, has arrived in orbit after a 300-day marathon covering over 670 million kilometres (420 million miles). Science writer Pallava Bagla traced its journey as it neared the Red Planet.
On the morning of 24 September, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) slowed down the spacecraft sufficiently so it could be caught in the orbit of Mars.
"India will become the first Asian country to have achieved this and if it happens in the maiden attempt itself, India could become the first country in the world to have reached distant Mars on its own steam in the first attempt," said Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan as it approached.
(It did happen
)
Both Russia and the US failed in their maiden attempts. The first Chinese mission to Mars, called Yinghuo-1, failed in 2011 alongside the Russian Phobos-Grunt mission with which it was launched. Earlier in 1998, the Japanese mission to Mars ran out of fuel and was lost.
Undoubtedly, India - a late starter - is way ahead of its Asian rivals in trying to get to the Red Planet.
"We are really not racing with anyone, but with ourselves to reach the next level of excellence," said Mr Radhakrishnan.
After completing the 666 million km (414 million miles) journey in more than 10 months, the spacecraft called Mangalyaan will now study the red planet's surface and scan its atmosphere for chemical methane. It will not land on Mars.
It will also be in the company of NASA's spacecraft Maven that slipped into an orbit around Mars on Sunday with an aim to scan the planet's upper atmosphere. Maven cost $671 million, roughly 10 times the Indian mission's stated cost
The 4.5bn rupee ($74m; £45m) mission is, as Mr Radhakrishnan says, "the cheapest inter-planetary mission ever to be undertaken by the world".
The Mars Orbiter Mission cost $74 million or about three-quarters of the amount to make the Oscar-winning movie 'Gravity' about astronauts stranded in space.
BBC News - Mangalyaan: India's race for space success
India triumphs in maiden Mars mission | Reuters
On the morning of 24 September, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) slowed down the spacecraft sufficiently so it could be caught in the orbit of Mars.
"India will become the first Asian country to have achieved this and if it happens in the maiden attempt itself, India could become the first country in the world to have reached distant Mars on its own steam in the first attempt," said Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan as it approached.
(It did happen
)Both Russia and the US failed in their maiden attempts. The first Chinese mission to Mars, called Yinghuo-1, failed in 2011 alongside the Russian Phobos-Grunt mission with which it was launched. Earlier in 1998, the Japanese mission to Mars ran out of fuel and was lost.
Undoubtedly, India - a late starter - is way ahead of its Asian rivals in trying to get to the Red Planet.
"We are really not racing with anyone, but with ourselves to reach the next level of excellence," said Mr Radhakrishnan.
After completing the 666 million km (414 million miles) journey in more than 10 months, the spacecraft called Mangalyaan will now study the red planet's surface and scan its atmosphere for chemical methane. It will not land on Mars.
It will also be in the company of NASA's spacecraft Maven that slipped into an orbit around Mars on Sunday with an aim to scan the planet's upper atmosphere. Maven cost $671 million, roughly 10 times the Indian mission's stated cost
The 4.5bn rupee ($74m; £45m) mission is, as Mr Radhakrishnan says, "the cheapest inter-planetary mission ever to be undertaken by the world".
The Mars Orbiter Mission cost $74 million or about three-quarters of the amount to make the Oscar-winning movie 'Gravity' about astronauts stranded in space.
BBC News - Mangalyaan: India's race for space success
India triumphs in maiden Mars mission | Reuters
