Is Mars becoming Indian?
India's maiden mission to Mars, the Mangalyaan has been on a 300-day marathon covering over 670 million kilometres (420 million miles). Science writer Pallava Bagla traces its journey as it nears its planned arrival in orbit. On the morning of 24 September, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will slow down the spacecraft sufficiently so that it can be caught in the orbit of Mars. If that happens, "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," explains Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan.
India's maiden mission to Mars, the Mangalyaan has been on a 300-day marathon covering over 670 million kilometres (420 million miles). Science writer Pallava Bagla traces its journey as it nears its planned arrival in orbit. On the morning of 24 September, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will slow down the spacecraft sufficiently so that it can be caught in the orbit of Mars. If that happens, "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," explains Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan.
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.
INC News, 24/09/2014-via BBC
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