Mars Missions

What made Mangalyaan especially remarkable was that it was developed on a very low budget — around ₹450 crore (~US$74 million), making it one of the most cost-effective interplanetary missions ever.

• Despite the challenges — as nearly half of all Mars missions by other countries had failed — ISRO succeeded in its very first attempt.
• The spacecraft was launched aboard a PSLV-C25 rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, and it entered Mars orbit on 24 September 2014.
• With this success, India became the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit and the first in the world to do so on its maiden attempt.
• The main goals of the mission were to collect data about the Martian surface, mineral composition, atmosphere, and morphology.
• Mangalyaan operated well beyond its expected 6-month lifespan, sending valuable information for over seven years before the mission concluded in 2022.

India's Mars mission was a proud moment for the nation and showcased ISRO’s ability to achieve complex space goals with efficiency, innovation, and limited resources.

• Mars Mission (Mangalyaan) by ISRO was launched in 2013 and successfully entered Mars orbit in 2014.
• It was a low-cost mission that provided important data on Mars' surface and atmosphere.
• Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian in space (1984), and stayed 8 days under the Indo-USSR program.
• Kalpana Chawla spent 336 hours in space but died in 2003 during the Columbia shuttle disaster.
• Sunita Williams worked 29 hours outside the space station and spent 192 days in space, setting a record.