Mangalyaan to Mars

Indias Mars Orbiter launched by PSLV C-25

ndias first interplanetary mission,

ISROs Mars Orbiter named as
Mangalyaan successfully lifted off
towards Mars from the Satish Dhawan
Space Centre on 5 November 2013 to
carry out experiments and search for
evidence of life on the red planet.
It is a historic moment for all of
us. We have successfully put the Mars
Orbiter Spacecraft into an elliptical orbit

On
eo

f Vi

king

. (p
space
crafts global mosaics of Mars

A)
AS
:N
o
t
ho

as had been intended, K Radhakrishnan,

Chairperson of the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO), exulted from
the control room. I feel delighted to
announce that the spacecraft is in a good
health, he continued. SK Shivakumar,
Director, ISRO Satellite Centre, summed
up the Indian scientific communitys pride
at the flight of the Mars Orbiter Mission
(MOM) . Our baby is up in space looking
for scientific objects. We have a long way
to go, he said amidst loud applause.
Only the US, Europe, and Russia have
sent probes that have orbited or landed on
Mars. Probes to Mars have a high failure
rate and success will be a boost for national
pride, especially after a similar mission by
China failed to leave Earths orbit in 2011.
China has keenly followed Mangalyaans
successful launch, which will also aid

PSLV-C5 on launch

VI/2013

29