Mars Orbiter Mission: 10 facts you should know

R.Nandini

The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan, is India’s first interplanetary mission to the planet Mars.

• India becomes the first country in the world to insert a spacecraft into the Martian orbit in its very first attempt, if went successful.
• Mars Orbiter Spacecraft, India's first interplanetary probe, was launched by PSLV-C25 on November 5, 2013 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
• The spacecraft left the earth’s orbit on November 5, 2013 to get attached to the Martian transfer trajectory on December 1, 2013.
• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) becomes the fourth space agency to reach Mars after Roscosmos, NASA and ESA.
• The project was approved by the government of India on 3 August 2012 and costs Rs. 450 crores.
• MOM is the cheapest and lowest-cost inter-planetary mission ever to be undertaken in the world. It cost us all a mere Rs 4 per person. PM Narendra Modi applauding Indian scientists had said,"Hollywood movie Gravity costs more than our space mission."
• The mission successfully completed its 100 days in space on February 12, 2014.
• The satellite has carried a compact science experiment instruments, totaling a mass of 15kg to study the Martian surface, atmosphere and mineralogy.
• The Methane Sensor For Mars (MSM) – will confirm the presence of methane in the Martian atmosphere. Methane is considered a key chemical to determine life process.MSM is among the five solar-powered instruments aboard Mangalyaan that will gather information on how the Martian weather systems work.
• According to NASA, Out of the 51 missions to the red planet by different countries, only 21 went successful till now.

(Compilation)