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| India becomes first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit, joins elite global space club | India becomes first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit, joins elite global space club |
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| NEW DELHI — India became the first Asian nation to reach the Red Planet when its indigenously made unmanned spacecraft entered the orbit of Mars on Wednesday — and the first nation in the world to successfully reach Mars on its first attempt. | NEW DELHI — India became the first Asian nation to reach the Red Planet when its indigenously made unmanned spacecraft entered the orbit of Mars on Wednesday — and the first nation in the world to successfully reach Mars on its first attempt. |
| The spacecraft called “Mangalyaan,” or “Mar’s craft” in Hindi, which was launched last November, slowed down just enough to reach the orbit early Wednesday, securing India a place in the elite global space club of Martian explorers. | The spacecraft called “Mangalyaan,” or “Mar’s craft” in Hindi, which was launched last November, slowed down just enough to reach the orbit early Wednesday, securing India a place in the elite global space club of Martian explorers. |
| Images of beaming scientists clapping and hugging each other at the command center in the southern city of Bangalore were shown live in a nationally televised broadcast after a breathless, nail-biting countdown during the spacecraft’s final leg. | Images of beaming scientists clapping and hugging each other at the command center in the southern city of Bangalore were shown live in a nationally televised broadcast after a breathless, nail-biting countdown during the spacecraft’s final leg. |
| Calling it the “ national pride event,” the Indian Space Research Organization also showed it live on Facebook and Twitter. | Calling it the “ national pride event,” the Indian Space Research Organization also showed it live on Facebook and Twitter. |
| The Headline Today news TV channel called it “India’s date with the Red Planet,” and NDTV 24x7 called it “India’s big leap,” reflecting the surge of national pride. NASA tweeted congratulations to India for its “Mars arrival.” | The Headline Today news TV channel called it “India’s date with the Red Planet,” and NDTV 24x7 called it “India’s big leap,” reflecting the surge of national pride. NASA tweeted congratulations to India for its “Mars arrival.” |
| Wearing a symbolic red vest, India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, witnessed the final insertion of the Mission Orbiter Mars, or MOM as it is fondly called here. | Wearing a symbolic red vest, India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, witnessed the final insertion of the Mission Orbiter Mars, or MOM as it is fondly called here. |
| “Mars has found MOM today,” Modi said in his short address. “When this mission’s short name became MOM, I was convinced that Mom never disappoints. History has been created today. India is the only country to have succeeded to reach the Red Planet on its first attempt.” | “Mars has found MOM today,” Modi said in his short address. “When this mission’s short name became MOM, I was convinced that Mom never disappoints. History has been created today. India is the only country to have succeeded to reach the Red Planet on its first attempt.” |
| More than half of the 51 Mars missions launched globally have failed. India’s successful mission follows those of the United States, Europe and Russia. But India’s mission cost a fraction of NASA’s $670 million Maven, which entered Mars orbit Sunday. The Curiosity Rover, which touched down on Mars in 2012, cost nearly $2 billion. | More than half of the 51 Mars missions launched globally have failed. India’s successful mission follows those of the United States, Europe and Russia. But India’s mission cost a fraction of NASA’s $670 million Maven, which entered Mars orbit Sunday. The Curiosity Rover, which touched down on Mars in 2012, cost nearly $2 billion. |
| By comparison, India’s $72 million Mars orbiter is the cheapest interplanetary mission ever. Modi said that India’s Mars mission cost less than what it took to make the famous Hollywood space movie “Gravity.” | By comparison, India’s $72 million Mars orbiter is the cheapest interplanetary mission ever. Modi said that India’s Mars mission cost less than what it took to make the famous Hollywood space movie “Gravity.” |
| “We kept it low cost, high technology. That is the Indian way of working,” Sandip Bhattacharya, assistant director of B.M. Birla Planetarium in the northern city of Jaipur, said in a telephone interview. “ . . . Our goal was to reach Mars and send few pictures and scientific data. Now in the coming years, this will give us leverage to plan for newer Mars missions in a more aggressive manner with heavier payload with larger exploration goals.” | “We kept it low cost, high technology. That is the Indian way of working,” Sandip Bhattacharya, assistant director of B.M. Birla Planetarium in the northern city of Jaipur, said in a telephone interview. “ . . . Our goal was to reach Mars and send few pictures and scientific data. Now in the coming years, this will give us leverage to plan for newer Mars missions in a more aggressive manner with heavier payload with larger exploration goals.” |
| Describing Mangalyaan’s “dream run,” Pallava Bagla, the co-author of the new book “Reaching for the Stars: India’s Journey to Mars and Beyond,” said on NDTV that it weighed over 320 tons, or the weight of about 50 full-grown elephants. | Describing Mangalyaan’s “dream run,” Pallava Bagla, the co-author of the new book “Reaching for the Stars: India’s Journey to Mars and Beyond,” said on NDTV that it weighed over 320 tons, or the weight of about 50 full-grown elephants. |
| Over the next six months, India’s Mangalyaan will study the mineral composition on Mars and also look for the presence of methane, a chemical key to life on Earth. | Over the next six months, India’s Mangalyaan will study the mineral composition on Mars and also look for the presence of methane, a chemical key to life on Earth. |
| The spacecraft will send its first set of pictures by Wednesday afternoon. | The spacecraft will send its first set of pictures by Wednesday afternoon. |
| India has launched 75 satellites since 1975, and its space program has over the years worked on collecting weather data, predicting natural disasters, feeding television and radio stations and also teaching children in remote villages without schools. | India has launched 75 satellites since 1975, and its space program has over the years worked on collecting weather data, predicting natural disasters, feeding television and radio stations and also teaching children in remote villages without schools. |
| Wednesday’s feat mirrors the country's growing ambition to sprint ahead in the Asian space race by competing with China, which has a bigger program than India’s $1.2 billion a year. In 2011, China launched its Mars orbiter on a Russian mission but failed. In 1998, Japan launched a craft that failed to enter the orbit in 2003 after it ran out of fuel and got lost. | Wednesday’s feat mirrors the country's growing ambition to sprint ahead in the Asian space race by competing with China, which has a bigger program than India’s $1.2 billion a year. In 2011, China launched its Mars orbiter on a Russian mission but failed. In 1998, Japan launched a craft that failed to enter the orbit in 2003 after it ran out of fuel and got lost. |
| “The success of our space program is a shining symbol of what we are capable of as a nation,” Modi said. “Modern India must continue and it must become a world guru. Let us push our boundaries. And then push some more, push some more.” | “The success of our space program is a shining symbol of what we are capable of as a nation,” Modi said. “Modern India must continue and it must become a world guru. Let us push our boundaries. And then push some more, push some more.” |
| During a visit to the Indian Space Research Organization office in June, Modi advised scientists to work on launching a satellite that would serve all the South Asian nations. | During a visit to the Indian Space Research Organization office in June, Modi advised scientists to work on launching a satellite that would serve all the South Asian nations. |
| Six years ago, India partnered on a mission with the United States, and a NASA device aboard India’s first lunar probe detected evidence of water on the moon. And India’s Mars spacecraft carries communications equipment from NASA. | Six years ago, India partnered on a mission with the United States, and a NASA device aboard India’s first lunar probe detected evidence of water on the moon. And India’s Mars spacecraft carries communications equipment from NASA. |
| India’s Mars mission has its share of critics, who have said it is an extravagant indulgence for a country where one-third of the population of 1.2 billion have no access to electricity. | India’s Mars mission has its share of critics, who have said it is an extravagant indulgence for a country where one-third of the population of 1.2 billion have no access to electricity. |