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| National pride soars as India puts spacecraft into Mars orbit before China | National pride soars as India puts spacecraft into Mars orbit before China |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| NEW DELHI — A burst of national pride swept through India on Wednesday when its low-budget spacecraft entered orbit around Mars, lifting it into a small but exclusive club of space powers and ahead of archrival China. | NEW DELHI — A burst of national pride swept through India on Wednesday when its low-budget spacecraft entered orbit around Mars, lifting it into a small but exclusive club of space powers and ahead of archrival China. |
| But what made it even more special for many here is that India also became the first country to complete a mission to Mars on its first attempt. | But what made it even more special for many here is that India also became the first country to complete a mission to Mars on its first attempt. |
| As the “Mangalyaan,” or “Mars-craft” in Hindi, entered the Red Planet’s orbit, India’s space agency called it a “national pride event.” | As the “Mangalyaan,” or “Mars-craft” in Hindi, entered the Red Planet’s orbit, India’s space agency called it a “national pride event.” |
| “Made-in-India Mangalyaan reaches Mars, ISRO shows US, Europe, Russia how to do it in the first attempt,” said the news Web site IBN Live. | |
| The Times Now channel ran a prime-time show titled “India Shows How It’s Done” and said the achievement marks the beginning of a new era of “cost-effective” space exploration. | The Times Now channel ran a prime-time show titled “India Shows How It’s Done” and said the achievement marks the beginning of a new era of “cost-effective” space exploration. |
| Scientists clapped, hugged one another and distributed sweets at the command center of the Indian Space Research Organization in the southern city of Bangalore. Schoolchildren celebrated by standing in formations to spell out the name of the space agency and watching the event on television. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wore a symbolic red vest to the event at the center. | Scientists clapped, hugged one another and distributed sweets at the command center of the Indian Space Research Organization in the southern city of Bangalore. Schoolchildren celebrated by standing in formations to spell out the name of the space agency and watching the event on television. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wore a symbolic red vest to the event at the center. |
| “The odds were stacked against us. About 51 Mars missions were launched globally. Only 21 have succeeded. But we have prevailed,” Modi said at the center. “The success of our space program is a shining symbol of what we are capable of as a nation. Modern India must continue to be a world guru.” | “The odds were stacked against us. About 51 Mars missions were launched globally. Only 21 have succeeded. But we have prevailed,” Modi said at the center. “The success of our space program is a shining symbol of what we are capable of as a nation. Modern India must continue to be a world guru.” |
| Wednesday’s feat spotlights the country’s growing ambition to sprint ahead in the Asian space race with China, which has an operation bigger than India’s $1.2 billion-a-year program. China launched a Mars orbiter on a Russian mission in 2011, but it failed. In 1998, Japan launched its mission in 1998, but its craft was unable to enter the orbit in 2003 after it ran out of fuel and became lost. | Wednesday’s feat spotlights the country’s growing ambition to sprint ahead in the Asian space race with China, which has an operation bigger than India’s $1.2 billion-a-year program. China launched a Mars orbiter on a Russian mission in 2011, but it failed. In 1998, Japan launched its mission in 1998, but its craft was unable to enter the orbit in 2003 after it ran out of fuel and became lost. |
| India’s Mars entry is the fourth, after the United States, Europe and Russia. | India’s Mars entry is the fourth, after the United States, Europe and Russia. |
| “Many countries have failed in their first attempt. India got success the first time itself,” said M. Pitchaimani, deputy director of the control center at the ISRO. “But this has come after intense study of others’ failures and the reasons for failure, and building our satellite accordingly. We also had gained from their accumulated knowledge about the gravity field of the planet, and we built robust instruments based on that data.” | “Many countries have failed in their first attempt. India got success the first time itself,” said M. Pitchaimani, deputy director of the control center at the ISRO. “But this has come after intense study of others’ failures and the reasons for failure, and building our satellite accordingly. We also had gained from their accumulated knowledge about the gravity field of the planet, and we built robust instruments based on that data.” |
| India’s mission cost a fraction of NASA’s $670 million Maven, which entered Mars orbit on Sunday. NASA’s Curiosity Rover, which touched down on Mars in 2012, cost nearly $2 billion. | India’s mission cost a fraction of NASA’s $670 million Maven, which entered Mars orbit on Sunday. NASA’s Curiosity Rover, which touched down on Mars in 2012, cost nearly $2 billion. |
| By comparison, India’s $72 million Mars orbiter mission is the cheapest interplanetary mission ever. | By comparison, India’s $72 million Mars orbiter mission is the cheapest interplanetary mission ever. |
| Modi said India’s Mars mission cost less than what it cost to make the Hollywood space movie “Gravity.” | Modi said India’s Mars mission cost less than what it cost to make the Hollywood space movie “Gravity.” |
| “We kept it low-cost, high technology. That is the Indian way of working,” said Sandip Bhattacharya, assistant director of B.M. Birla Planetarium in the northern city of Jaipur. | “We kept it low-cost, high technology. That is the Indian way of working,” said Sandip Bhattacharya, assistant director of B.M. Birla Planetarium in the northern city of Jaipur. |