India Enters Mars Orbit, Makes History

BANGALORE: India made history by becoming the first country in the world to enter the Martian orbit in its maiden attempt.

The success of India's successful mission to Mars "will go down as landmark in history", said Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) entered the orbit of the red planet.

"These are all accomplishments that will go down as landmarks in history," said a visibly happy Modi.

The prime minister said that the MOM was built "indigenously, in a pan-Indian effort, stretching from Bangalore to Bhubhaneshwar, and Faridabad to Rajkot".

He said: "India is the only country, to have succeeded in its very first attempt."

The prime minister said: "Travelling an incredible distance, of over 650 million or 65 crore kms,we have gone beyond boundaries, of human enterprise and imagination."

"The spacecraft (Orbiter) was successfully inserted into the Martian orbit at 515 km away from the red planet's surface and 215 million km away from the earth in radio distance," a senior space official told IANS at the mission's control centre.

The Mars orbit insertion began in the early hours at 4.17 a.m. when the spacecraft switched over to the medium gain antenna for emitting and receiving radio signals.

After rotating the Orbiter in the direction of Mars at 6.57 a.m., the main engine was ignited at 7.17 a.m. to enable the spacecraft enter the Martian orbit.

During the crucial operation, when an eclipse occurred on Mars from 7.12 a.m., the 440 Newton liquid apogee motor (LAM) of the main engine started burning at 7.30 a.m. and lasted for 24 minutes till 7.54 a.m. for inserting the spacecraft into the Martian orbit.

"Radars at the four earth stations across the U.S., Europe, India and Australia received the signal confirming the successful insertion of the spacecraft into the Martian orbit," the official said.

Also Read:
More About Mangalyaan: The Quintessential Features to Know
Modi's 'Make In India' Vision Reflected In These Reforms