India celebrates Mars mission success
India has shown itself to be a major player in space exploration, becoming the first Asian nation to successfully launch a spacecraft into the orbit of Mars, and the first country ever to do it on its first try.
Reaching the red zone
300 days after the Mangalyaan probe was launched, at 7:41am Wednesday local time, confirmation came that the Indian spacecraft had entered Mars' orbit. The announcement brought loud cheers from scientists anxiously watching the craft's progress, as well as from many of India's 1.25 billion citizens following the action on TV.
Victory celebrations
Joining in the celebrations at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in the southern city of Bangalore, the country's Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the program's success "historic," saying it was an achievement for all Indians. "We have dared to reach out into the unknown, and we have achieved the near impossible," the PM said.
A bright future
The Mangalyaan will now examine Mars' atmosphere and surface for the next six months, primarily looking for evidence of the gas methane that could help provide proof of the planet's potential to support life. India's scientists are currently planning the launch of a moon rover, and further trips to Mars, with speculation that a landing attempt is planned for 2018.
Against all odds
The mission's remarkable success has put the traditional space exploration countries, such as the United States, Russia and China, on notice. Fewer than half of the 51 Mars missions attempted so far have actually succeeded. Even US space agency NASA tweeted its congratulations to the Indian space center.
The price of victory
India can also boast of having the cheapest space mission ever, at a cost of around 74 million USD. In comparison, US-financed MAVEN satellite, which reached the orbit of Mars mere days before the Mangalyaan, cost more than 670 million USD. Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, foreign policy expert at the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation, says this is due to lower salaries and labor costs.
Power plays
The triumph of India's Mars mission is also a blow to China and Japan, both of whom had previous missions that failed to reach the Red Planet. Rajagopalan says the space mission is a key move by India in the power struggle over Asia. "Space is clearly emerging as one of the many areas in which Asian states compete", she says.
Irresponsible?
Experts have dismissed criticism that financing such a program is irresponsible while the country continues to struggle with widespread poverty. Rajagopalan says the mission's success will benefit India as a whole. "Keeping abreast of technological developments is imperative: We cannot afford to be left behind in any area of technology because that would be the surest path to perpetual poverty."