In Asian space race, India is the first to Mars
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Version 0 of 1. Indians are celebrating what many countries have previously failed to do: A spacecraft successfully completed the orbit of Mars, and did so in its first attempt. How big a deal is this? Not only is India the first Asian country to accomplish this feat, but out of the 51 attempts by other countries to orbit Mars, at least half have failed. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) even set up a Twitter account so Indians could follow along with the orbit. What is red, is a planet and is the focus of my orbit? pic.twitter.com/HDRWjOcPus — ISRO's Mars Orbiter (@MarsOrbiter) September 24, 2014 What is red, is a planet and is the focus of my orbit? pic.twitter.com/HDRWjOcPus — ISRO's Mars Orbiter (@MarsOrbiter) September 24, 2014 When the orbit was successfully completed, NASA's Curiosity Rover sent a "Namaste" along its way. Namaste, @MarsOrbiter! Congratulations to @ISRO and India's first interplanetary mission upon achieving Mars orbit. — Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) September 24, 2014 Namaste, @MarsOrbiter! Congratulations to @ISRO and India's first interplanetary mission upon achieving Mars orbit. — Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) September 24, 2014 And fittingly, the Mars Orbiter sent a "Howdy" back. Howdy @MarsCuriosity ? Keep in touch. I'll be around. — ISRO's Mars Orbiter (@MarsOrbiter) September 24, 2014 Howdy @MarsCuriosity ? Keep in touch. I'll be around. — ISRO's Mars Orbiter (@MarsOrbiter) September 24, 2014 Students in Ahmedabad, a city in Western India, took to the streets and set off fire crackers in celebrations. And many on social media were quick to note one remarkable fact about the orbit: the price tag. India's effort was 11 percent of the cost of the U.S. Mars probe called Maven, which entered Mars orbit on Sunday. India's #Mangalyaan mission to Mars was actually cheaper than making a film in space(!) http://t.co/vUEYQ9gb5zpic.twitter.com/ddykkOKSH5 — Ampp3d (@ampp3d) September 24, 2014 India's #Mangalyaan mission to Mars was actually cheaper than making a film in space(!) http://t.co/vUEYQ9gb5zpic.twitter.com/ddykkOKSH5 — Ampp3d (@ampp3d) September 24, 2014
Take a look at more photos from India's Mars mission: View Photo Gallery —The country became the first in Asia to join an elite club of explorers to the Red Planet when it put a satellite in Mars’s orbit on Sept. 24.
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