On September 24 India’s Mangalyaan probe successfully fell into Mars’ orbit. Only the United States, the former USSR, and The European Space Agency have been able to reach Mars, making India the second current country to have done so. In addition, India has become the only country to reach Mars on its first attempt (1).
As the Mangalyaan probe, also known as the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), began to send its first signals back to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the control room became loud with cheers and applause as the scientists celebrated with sweets.
The launch vehicle for the Indian Space Research Organization that is to carry to the Mangalyaan is housed within a protective scaffolding facility to ease preparations. Source: AFP/Getty Images
Mangalyaan is one of the cheapest interplanetary missions in history, costing only a total of $75 million, about the cost of the movie Gravity (1). In comparison, the NASA mission that also launched a probe around the same time cost about $637 million, which was considered under budget (2). The probe is also much less sophisticated compared to NASA’s, with fewer instruments, a shorter lifetime, and less capabilities. NASA’s probe is equipped with more fuel so that it can fall into a better circular orbit of Mars while Mangalyaan will follow a wider oval orbit (2).
Mangalyaan is equipped with five instruments that are designed to study the geology and evolution of Mars in addition to looking for life. However, some remain skeptical as to the performance level of Mangalyaan. Amitabha Ghosh, a planetary geologist, said: “I am skeptical that MOM will be able to dwell decisively on present or past life on Mars” (1). Ghosh goes on to say that Mangalyaan will not supply any new data or data comparable to that of past missions. Previous missions such as NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor have already mapped out the topography of Mars with 640 million elevation measurements, leaving little room for Mangalyaan to add to.
ISRO does not see the goal of Mangalyaan to gather scientific information but rather to demonstrate the technological capabilities of India. Advancement in space technology for India strengthens its national security, especially as China begins testing of its anti-satellite weapons. India and China attempted to lower national tensions in mid-September, when they signed a civilian space-cooperation agreement (1).
Sources:
Brumfiel, G. (n.d.). India Zooms to Mars Much More Cheaply, But With Trade Offs. NPR. Retrieved September 27, 2014, from http://www.npr.org/
Kumar, S. (2014, September 14). India Joins Elite Mars Club. Nature.com. Retrieved September 27, 2014, from http://www.nature.com/