'ISRO's Mangalyan And NASA's Maven Will Complement Each Other In Mars Findings'

NASA's Mars-bound spacecraft, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutionN (MAVEN) was launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida, U.S.

MAVEN is the second mission for NASA's Mars Scout Program and is likely to obtain critical measurements of the Martian upper atmosphere to help understand the climate change over the red planet's history.

MAVEN carries eight instruments -- Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer, Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph, Magnetometer, Solar Wind Electron Analyzer, SupraThermal and Thermal Ion Composition, Langmuir Probe and Waves antenna, Solar Energetic Particles and Solar Wind Ion Analyzer.

After having successfully completed five orbit raising manoeuvres on its Mars Orbiter, ISRO is expected to perform the crucial event of Trans Martian injection of the spacecraft in the early hours of December 1.

The spacecraft will reach the red planet's orbit by September 24, 2014 after an over 10 month voyage.

ISRO's PSLV-C25 successfully injected 1,350-kg Mangalyaan Orbiter (Mars craft) into orbit around Earth some 44 minutes after launch at 2.38 PM from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on November 5, marking the successful completion of the first stage of the Rs 450 crore missions.