Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<div class="KonaFilter image-container full"><div class="image">AP</div></div>Somehow, <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> plans to send a satellite to <keyword id="47638" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mars">Mars</keyword> - already a difficult task with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/indias-low-cost-mars-mission-2013-11">21 of 51 global missions to the red planet having failed</a> - for the<a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-india-launch-mars-mission-20131104,0,3566545.story#axzz2jtgvTsc6"> incredibly low cost of $73 million</a>.
Let's compare this to some other space mission and some Hollywood space missions for perspective.
First, consider NASA's Maven satellite, which is due to launch later November and is broadly comparable in scope to India's mission. It <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303661404579175160183234906">costs $671 million</a>.
Second, NASA's more ambitious Mars Curiosity mission, launched in 2011 and <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-india-launch-mars-mission-20131104,0,3566545.story#axzz2jtgvTsc6">cost $2.5 billion</a>.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container full"><div class="image">Business Insider</div></div>India's mission certainly does seem like a bargain compared to NASA missions.
How does it compare to other expensive things? Well, as one <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1pzziz/the_indian_mars_mission_cost_73_million_which_is/">Reddit user has pointed out</a>, it's less than the estimated budget ($105 million) for <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454468/">critically acclaimed space film "Gravity</a>," released earlier this year:
<div class="KonaFilter image-container full"><div class="image">Business Insider</div></div>This may be a silly comparison, but it does make you wonder - why is India's mission so cheap?
For one thing, the mission is cutting corners, using existing technology as much as possible, and minimizing the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/indias-low-cost-mars-mission-2013-11">number of physical test models used by replacing them with computer simulations</a>. David Alexander, director of the Rice Space Institute, <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/11/04/243082266/why-indias-mars-mission-is-so-much-cheaper-than-nasas">told NPR that India's cheaper</a> labor costs may well also keep costs down too.
Is a cheap mission to Mars it a good investment?
A cheaper Mars mission is in many ways a riskier Mars mission, but so far India's done better than China and Russia's failed 2011 attempt, which suffered a number of problems after launch and <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/phobos-grunt-failed-russian-mars-probe-falls-earth/story?id=15366151">never made it beyond low Earth orbit</a>. There has, however, been some compelling criticism that India shouldn't be spending money on Mars when so many of its citizens live in poverty.
But remember, you have to put money in to get money out - Gravity turned a huge profit at the box office. Investing in things like space missions has in the past spurred innovation and created jobs.
India's Mars mission could very well crash and burn, but even if it makes it the return is unclear.

Putting India's Absurdly Cheap Mission To Mars In Perspective

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/gallery/Mars__atmosphere.jpg">NASA</a></div></div></div>On Monday, the space agencies of India and France signed a letter of intent stating that the two will collaborate on India's next mission to Mars, <a href="http://spacenews.com/france-will-play-a-role-in-indias-next-mission-to-mars/">SpaceNews reported</a>.This mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2020 and would involve sending a satellite into orbit around the Red Planet, will mark India's second mission to Mars in history.While the 2020 orbiter will not set a lander on Mars' surface, the president of French space agency National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) Jean-Yves Le Gall said a lander mission might not be far off for India."After India's Mars orbiter, the next step has to be a lander. A lander on Mars is not easy, but it will be interesting to undertake," Le Gall told <a href="http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/indias-next-mars-mission-will-have-french-connection-1270182">NDTV</a>.When Le Gall says that sending a lander to Mars "is not easy," he's not kidding.In the history of deep space exploration, only <a href="http://www.space.com/12404-mars-explored-landers-rovers-1971.html">three space agencies</a> have attempted a Mars lander: the Soviet Space Program, NASA, and the European Space Agency (ESA).Of those three, NASA is the only agency who's had landers that functioned for longer than 15 seconds after touchdown. In fact, NASA's latest lander, the Curiosity rover, just celebrated <a href="http://www.space.com/31735-opportunity-rover-12-years-mars.html">12 years of exploration</a> on the surface.Needless to say, sending a lander to Mars is a major undertaking. But with a partner like CNES, India might just pull it off.Founded in 1961, CNES <a href="http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/scientific-diplomacy/events/article/france-at-the-heart-of-the-rosetta">has helped design and build</a> the technology for such groundbreaking missions as ESA's Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and its Philae lander <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNES#Ongoing_missions">as well as</a> the Cassini-Huygens mission, which included an atmospheric probe - Huygens - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huygens_(spacecraft)">that landed</a> on Saturn's moon, Titan. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bizarre-spots-enceladus-saturn-unexplained-science-tech-nasa-space-moon-2016-1">Scientists can't explain these mysterious spots on one of Saturn's most remarkable moons</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="A1ZDlkMDE61sQQ4wA7LzMTN78hxSS68y" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

France just announced plans to help India land on Mars for the first time

<ul><li><keyword id="7940647" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="mission-mangalyaan">Mission Mangalyaan</keyword> is commended for being the cheapest ever <keyword id="452868" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mission-to-Mars">mission to Mars</keyword>, which was successful on a budget of ₹4.5 billion. </li><li>Its cost was less than the budget of the upcoming movie based on the event, <keyword id="1961443" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="mission-mangal">Mission Mangal</keyword> which was produced for ₹5 billion. </li><li>But its limited budget meant that it was only a technology demonstration mission for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rather than one focused on collecting scientific data. </li></ul>The upcoming Bollywood movie, Mission Mangal, set to release on August 15th celebrates India's successful maiden mission to Mars — Mangalyaan. An ensemble cast consisting of <keyword id="2823" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Akshay-Kumar">Akshay Kumar</keyword>, Vidya Balan and Sharman Joshi all star in a movie that showcases India's space mission. <div type="image" title="66816772_10156986660608283_8557114509213302784_n_edited" msid="70498336" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Cast of &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;Mission Mangal &amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>

 Mission Mangalyaan, or the Mars Orbiter Mission (<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/India-Is-Pioneering-The-Low-Cost-Mission-To-Mars/articleshow/25239899.cms">MOM</a>), is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/Mangalyaan-Makes-Its-Way-To-Times-Best-Inventions-of-2014-List/articleshow/45260385.cms">lauded</a> for being the cheapest ever mission to Mars which a budget of ₹4.5 billion (₹450 crore). It's also how India came to be the fourth country to land on Mars and the first one to do it successfully on its first attempt. <div type="image" title="mars1_edited" msid="70498480" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Mangalyaan captures its first image of Mars taken from a height of 7300 km&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>

 Ironically Mission Mangal's <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/akshay-kumar-on-mission-mangal-my-film-2-0-had-a-budget-of-500-crore-india-s-mars-mission-cost-less-than-that/story-bQBoxtyvC1ewHgJXNRhYFN.html">budget</a> is more than that of the actual Mars mission at ₹5 billion (₹500 crore), according to Kumar. But unlike the movie, the story of Mangalyaan doesn't quite end happily ever after. Defying the odds Mission Mangal's trailer shows that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had proposed a budget ₹8 billion (₹ 800 crore) to launch Mangalyaan but were only allotted a little more than half that amount for the project. <div type="image" title="mom_edited" msid="70498449" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;First image of the Earth by MCC of Mars Orbiter Spacecraft taken on Nov 19, 2013&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>

 Innovation and jugaad (cheap quick fix solutions to problems) did help turn the mission. This is in spite of the fact that its ‘chances of success were less than 1%'. And, while Mission Mangal seems to highlight the obstacles that India had to overcome in order to launch Mangalyaan — it could fail to illustrate the fact that it came at a cost. Cost of science In the movie, the project team worries about getting the payloads aboard the rocket. In typical movie fashion, the narrative seems to be skewed towards how they finally managed to ‘fix' it. In reality, ISRO had to drastically cut down on the instruments it had planned to send to Mars because it lacked a rocket with the requisite capacity. Technology like the ‘<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-most-powerful-launcher-will-carry-chandrayaan-2-on-moon-mission/articleshow/70202043.cms">Bahubali</a>' GSLV-Mark III heavy launch vehicle which recently launched the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/heres-why-chandrayaan-2-is-landmark-moon-mission-for-india/articleshow/69842571.cms">Chandrayaan 2</a> mission into space wasn't available back in 2013. Instead, India used its lighter PSLV XL launch vehicle — originally built for the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/what-were-the-challenges-with-chandrayaan-1/articleshow/70202192.cms">Chandrayaan 1</a> and the largest available rocket at the time — to reach Mars. <div type="image" title="pslv-c25-23 (1)_edited" msid="70498392" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Mangalyaan&amp;#39;s PSLV XL C25 rocket taking off in 2013&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>

 A smaller rocket also meant that it could only carry so much weight. Mangalyaan's payload was only 15 kilograms and it could only take five payloads along. And since ISRO only had 18 months to pull the mission together, the instruments were relatively simple, and could only send back to the most basic of information. <div type="image" title="mars06_edited" msid="70498540" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Mangalyaan&amp;#39;s spacecraft undergoing EMI/EMC test at ISITE ISAC Bangalore&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>

 To put it in perspective, US' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had five years to work on Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (<keyword id="443648" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="MAVEN">MAVEN</keyword>) — which launched a mere 13 days after MOM. It had a capacity of 65 kilograms, carried eight payloads and cost a total of $671 million. And so, its contribution towards scientific advancement and the understanding of Mars was also much higher. Mangalyaan, on the other hand, the aim was just to get there. ISRO, in the past, stated that Mangalyaan was merely a technology demonstration mission to show India's capabilities in outer space technology. In that sense, it could be termed successful, yet its contribution to understanding the elusive planet, is quite less. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-low-cost-chandrayaan-and-mars-missions-come-at-a-price/articleshow/70226652.cms">India's low cost space missions come at a price</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/isros-commercial-operations-clock-in-over-60-billion-in-revenue-but-leaves-private-players-out-of-the-equation/articleshow/70375311.cms">ISRO's commercial operations clock in over ₹60 billion in revenue but leaves private players out of the equation</a>

The truth of ISRO's Mangalyaan which Akshay Kumar's Mission Mangal could miss

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">NASA</div></div></div><keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> likes its stuff cheap.
Maker of the <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-11/tatas-nano-the-worlds-cheapest-car-is-sputtering">world's cheapest car</a> ($2600), <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/05/us-india-tablet-idUSTRE7940YV20111005">world's cheapest tablet</a> ($60) and even the <a href="http://phys.org/news/2011-07-india-tata-group-flat-pack-house.html">world's cheapest house</a> ($700), India is now launching the <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/slideshows/science-technology/why-isros-mars-mission-is-the-cheapest/isros-mars-mission-the-cheapest/slideshow/24982329.cmshttp://economictimes.indiatimes.com/slideshows/science-technology/why-isros-mars-mission-is-the-cheapest/isros-mars-mission-the-cheapest/slideshow/24982329.cms">world's cheapest mission to Mars</a>, which takes off this week.
The mission, launched by Indian space agency ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) will cost the Indian government just $80 million, which compares to NASA's $2.5 billion expenditure on the US' <keyword id="47638" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mars">Mars</keyword> Curiosity project. 
The satellite is called Mangalyaan (Mars Vehicle), and will not touch down on the planet. It has been only been designed for orbit. 21 of the 51 global missions to Mars gave failed, including the one launched by China. 
But how has India managed to keep its costs so low? The answer, <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/slideshows/science-technology/why-isros-mars-mission-is-the-cheapest/save-time-money/slideshow/24982315.cms">according to the Economic Times, </a> is "frugal engineering," which has a few basic principles: to adapt existing technology as far as possible, minimize the number of physical models and optimize testing.
Unlike its European and US counterparts, ISRO has a much smaller budget and cannot afford to experiment and build iteratively. While NASA and the European Space Agency usually make three models of the spacecraft, ISRO modeled everything on software and physically built only the final model. 
This frugal approach does increase risks, which are evident from India's previous <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1341521/Boom-Indian-space-scientists-watch-horror-rocket-explodes-minutes-off.html">failed</a> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-23751269">space missions</a>. Also, instead of flying directly, the 350-tonne rocket will orbit earth for <a href="http://phys.org/news/2013-11-india-mars-prestige-space-mission.html">nearly a month</a>, building up the necessary velocity to break free from the earth's gravitational pull. 
India's space mission has been criticized as being a waste of resources in a country where a huge proportion of the population still lives in poverty. However, defendants of the program have stated that the space program goes hand-in-hand with India's development goals. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/10/29/india-is-going-to-mars-but-dont-call-it-a-space-race/">The Washington Post reports</a> Dean Cheng a scholar at the Heritage Foundation saying, "The country realized early on that satellites would enable health officials to practice medicine remotely, reaching inaccessible parts of the country. The same was true for remote education. ISRO's major focus, in other words, has been to use space research as a way to overcome the country's (still) steep economic obstacles."
The chairman of ISRO, K. Radhakrishnan, has defended the program saying that India's budget for space exploration is only <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/mars-is-part-of-indias-space-vision/article5254175.ece">0.34% of its annual budget</a>, of which 7% has been allocated to planetary exploration. He also believes that the mission will also have positive implications for the rest of the economy, and will help with cyclone forecasting. 
<div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="REUTERS GRAPHICS" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5278328fecad04f3498b4571-960/screen%20shot%202013-11-04%20at%206.48.58%20pm.png"></a>REUTERS GRAPHICS</div></div>

India Is Pioneering The Low-Cost Mission To Mars

<ul><li>The movie based on India’s space mission to Mars was made at a budget of ₹xx crore </li><li>Akshay Kumar's Mission Mangal crossed ₹29 crore within 24 hours of release </li><li>It is the highest collection among all the Akshay Kumar's films. </li><li>Mission Mangal is based on the all-women team that led India's mission to Mars. </li></ul>Akshay Kumar-starrer Mission Mangal crossed ₹29 crore within 24 hours of release-- that’s over 20% of the movie’s total budget of ₹140 crore. The movie, based on India’s space mission to Mars, has been released on a long weekend-- owing to the holiday on August 15 for Independence Day-- and that is expected to boost collections. Mission Mangal’s show witnessed an overall occupancy of 50-55% across India, <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/trends/mission-manga-l-box-office-collection-day-1-vidya-balan-akshay-kumar-movie-fabulous-start/story/372950.html">reported</a> Business Today. It is the highest collection among all the Akshay Kumar's films, <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/mission-mangal-vs-batla-house-box-office-day-1-akshay-kumar-s-highest-opener-mints-rs-27-cr-john-abraham-film-strong-at-rs-13-cr/story-CPZmNUipIJa2MisBbXVjyI.html">reported </a>Hindustan Times. Before this, <a href="https://boxofficeindia.com/report-details.php?articleid=5311">Kumar's Gold collected nearly</a> ₹23.67 crore nett on its first day. 
	
	
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="taran_adarsh" handlename="taran adarsh" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1440352704/profile_pic_taran_normal.jpg" favoritecount="5078" retweetcount="724" status="Akshay Kumar and #IndependenceDay releases... Day 1 biz... ⭐ 2016: #Rustom ₹ 14.11 cr [Fri; working day] ⭐ 2017:… https://t.co/U5ROPNiXl9" createdat="1565933160000" id="1162234030391099394"></div>









 The movie starring Akshay Kumar as the lead has a predominantly female star cast including <keyword id="3844" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vidya-Balan">Vidya Balan</keyword>, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari and Nithya Menon released on the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) 50th anniversary. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/akshay-kumars-mission-mangal-could-miss-facts-about-mangalyaan/articleshow/70498232.cms">Mission Mangal</a> has showcased the role that women had to play in the mission’s success. However, while it’s true that women had a lot of key contributions to Mangalyaan, the mission wasn’t as dominated by women as Mission Mangal’s trailer would have you believe. At the time of the launch, the <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/india/isro-scientists-who-made-mangalyaan-possible-all-you-need-to-know-about-them-1727791.html">control room</a> had as many as 14 senior male scientists present and only 3 female scientists. Movie review However, the movie has opened with some great reviews. According to<a href="https://twitter.com/taran_adarsh/status/1161962730607300609"> the film critic Taran Adarsh,</a> Mission Mangal is ‘one of the best films of 2019’. Devansh Sharma from the First Post <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/mission-mangal-review-india-should-be-proud-of-this-riveting-and-inspiring-film-just-like-it-is-of-mangalyaan-7166291.html">writes,</a> India should be proud of this inspiring film John Abraham starrer Batla House that was released alongside Mission Mangal also witnessed a good opening at the box office with ₹13-15 crore. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/akshay-kumar-starrer-mission-mangal-is-using-feminism-to-sell-tickets/articleshow/70553147.cms">Mangalyaan was not as female centric as Mission Mangal would have you believ</a>e

Akshay Kumar-starrer Mission Mangal has covered a fifth of its budget on the first day — and it has 3 more days in the opening weekend

Although <keyword id="164562" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mars-mission">Mars mission</keyword> have a high failure rate worldwide, renowned space scientist UR Rao has expressed confidence that India’s maiden journey to Mars would be a success. 
	India launched the <keyword id="1925476" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mars-orbiter">Mars Orbiter</keyword> Mission, called ‘<keyword id="1506013" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="mangalyaan">Mangalyaan</keyword>’, in November 2013. The spacecraft is expected to land on Mars on September 24. <o:p></o:p>

	“More than 30% of Mars missions failed in the beginning, but we have undertaken this for the first time and we will succeed. On September 24, we will go to Mars,” said Rao, chairman, council of management, physical research laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad. Rao added, “we would be able to colonise Mars in less than 1,000 years.” <o:p></o:p>

	He said Indian scientists were also working on L1 mission to study the Sun. <o:p></o:p>

	“I am surprised no scientific person is working on the solar corona. We know so little about the Sun. The ignorance is amazing. Papers are being written but we cannot make head or tail of them. Today we have the technological ability to do it. Why are scientific people not doing it? If you have to do great science, you have to have an adventurous attitude,” he told the scientific community at PRL. <o:p></o:p>

Space Scientist Expresses
Confidence Of Mangalyaan’s Success

<div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Wikipedia" title_caption="An artist's rendering of the Mangalyaan spacecraft." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/542295d96bb3f7013c46db67-960/marsorbitermission-india-artistsconcept.jpg"></a>WikipediaAn artist's rendering of the Mangalyaan spacecraft.</div></div>
India just became Asia's first interplanetary power. The country's Mangalyaan satellite successfully made it into orbit around Mars on Wednesday after a roughly 10-month journey. The mission comes at an astonishingly low cost of $74 million, or nearly one-tenth of the price of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-mars-maven-enters-orbit-2014-9">NASA's MAVEN spacecraft that entered the red planet's orbit Sunday night</a>. 
Indian Space Research Organization chief K. Radhakrishnan even called the Mars Orbiter Mission "the cheapest interplanetary mission ever to be undertaken by the world."
Just how cheap? This graph shows a handful of surprising things that cost more than India's Mars mission. 
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>
<ul>
<li>The most expensive apartment ever sold in London had a price tag of $237 million. You could get three of India's satellites for that cost, and with a better view.</li>
<li>The new F-35 fighter jet costs a jaw-dropping <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/f-35-cost-2014-2">$160 million a pop</a>. </li>
<li>"Gravity" starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock cost about $100 million. That's about one-third more than the cost of the successful Mars mission. </li>
<li>The Airbus A380 would set you back more than $400 million. You could get more than five Mangalyaan satellites for that price. </li>
</ul>

5 Surprising Things That Cost More Than India's Historic Mission To Mars

MUMBAI: In recent years, a rising number of countries are eyeing the Red Planet, both with the idea of establishing a permanent human settlement there, as well as carrying out unmanned scientific research. 
 
So far, just three countries or groupings have launched unmanned missions to Mars: the US, the former Soviet Union and the 17-member European Space Agency. India has thus joined an exclusive global Martian club as the fourth member, in the first shot, and become the first Asian nation. 
 <keyword id="6355311" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Japan">Japan</keyword>'s attempt to reach Mars with the Nozomi spacecraft in 1998 suffered a setback, and China's maiden effort with Yinghuo-1 in November 2011 didn't succeed because of a failure of the Russian rocket. UAE is planning an unmanned mission to Mars in 2021. 
 
The main reason why countries are aiming for Mars is to hunt for the elusive Methane and determine if life ever existed on that planet since it is most earth-like. 
 Nasa's <keyword id="69295" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Curiosity">Curiosity</keyword> mission, which landed on the Red Planet on August 6, 2012, established that conditions there were once suitable for life. But, it also declared that there was no methane, a theory dismissed by former <keyword id="6358064" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="ISRO">Isro</keyword> chief U R Rao, who played a key role in the selection of the five payloads for the <keyword id="6625456" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mars-Orbiter-Mission">Mars Orbiter Mission</keyword> (MOM). Among five scientific equipment MOM carries is a Lyman alpha photometer to look for deuterium and hydrogen--indicators of water in the past. 
 
 
Nasa's Curiosity rover had declared that there was no methane on the Red Planet. 
 
READ ALSO: <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Isros-agent-Mars-The-name-is-Arunan/articleshow/43366888.cms">Isro’s agent Mars — The name is Arunan</a> 
 
<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Mars-Orbiter-Mission-to-spawn-a-generation-of-smart-satellites/articleshow/43364220.cms">​Mars Orbiter Mission to spawn a generation of smart satellites</a> 
 
<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/With-Mars-feat-India-checks-into-a-super-exclusive-league/articleshow/43369545.cms">With Mars feat, India checks into a super exclusive league</a> 
 
Some scientists have even been speculating that life began on Mars. They believe several billion years ago a rock with life in it could have struck the Red Planet, bounced back into space, and landed on earth. Another factor prompting countries to go to Mars is to know why it transformed from a warm, wet planet into a cold and dry one. 
 
 
Countries are hunting for the elusive Methane on Mars to determine whether life ever existed on the planet. 
 
Scientists also want to understand the Martian climate, its atmosphere and dust storms. A study of its minerals is also a part of the scientists' agenda. Space agencies also want to develop a detailed model of Mars relating to the physical and chemical processes taking place there. 
 
<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Mars-Orbiter-Mission-Timeline/articleshow/43295819.cms">Mars Orbiter Mission: Timeline</a> 
 
<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/listshow/43310891.cms">10 things you should know about Mangalyaan</a> 
 
V Adimurty , who headed the Indian Mars Mission Study Team, told TOI in an earlier interview that scientists are curious to know about Mars “because it holds the secrets of our past and the possibilities of our future“. 
 <keyword id="193230" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Buzz-Aldrin">Buzz Aldrin</keyword>, the second man to step on the moon, in his book 'Mission To Mars' wrote that understanding the Martian climate and atmosphere, including the evolution of Mars' surface and interior, can be “looped back into grasping the past, present and future of earth“.

Why Mars? To Find The Elusive Methane And Secrets Of Life

The <keyword id="6625456" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mars-Orbiter-Mission">Mars Orbiter Mission</keyword> (MOM), the <keyword id="116095" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Space-Research-Organisation">Indian Space Research Organisation</keyword>’s (ISRO’s) first interplanetary mission, <a href="https://www.isro.gov.in/update/24-sep-2018/mars-orbiter-mission-mom-completes-4-years-its-orbit" data-type="tilCustomLink">completed 4 years</a> on Monday. This mission made <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> the first country to enter the red planet’s orbit on its first attempt as well as the first Asian country to have sent a spacecraft into <keyword id="47638" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mars">Mars</keyword>’ orbit. <div type="Youtube" id="p6iSYiSQUF8" title="India's Mars Orbiter Mission completes 4 years" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/p6iSYiSQUF8/mqdefault.jpg"></div>

 To mark the occasion, ISRO shared some pictures from the <keyword id="1927478" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mars-Colour-Camera">Mars Colour Camera</keyword> (MCC) on board the Mars Orbiter Spacecraft (MOS). In order to fulfil its mission of collecting data to study the Martian atmosphere and observe the red planet's physical features, the MOS also carries a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer, methane sensor for Mars, Mars exospheric neutral composition analyser and a Lyman Alpha photometer. Here are some of the images that have been captured so far:

Mars Orbiter Mission completes 4 years: In pictures

<ul><li>India is lauded for bringing about cost-effective space exploration globally. </li><li>But, most of India’s missions, like Mangalyaan and the upcoming Gaganyaan, are technology demonstrators rather than long term voyages to collect data. </li><li>Bringing the Space Activities Bill to fruition to allow for private participation might be one way that India can plan for longer and more indulgent space missions. </li></ul>India is globally touted for its cost effective space missions. <keyword id="45499" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chandrayaan">Chandrayaan</keyword> 2, for example, is revered for being cheaper than producing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/chandrayaan-2-cheaper-than-avengers-endgame-what-the-foreign-press-says/articleshow/70208309.cms">Avengers: Endgame</a>. Mangalyaan is celebrated as the <a href="https://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2014/09/23/how-india-mounted-the-worlds-cheapest-mission-to-mars/">most affordable</a> mission to Mars in the world. But there’s a catch. Cutting down on costs for space exploration means that India is able to collect less data and its missions are quick. "There are many factors. The entire cycle, the entire process of building a space mission is compromised," Chaitanya Giri, a fellow for space and ocean studies at Gateway House — a think tank focussing of India’s global relations — told Business Insider India. Shorter timelines "So, we’re not investing in these missions as long duration missions. So, if you look at the European Space Agency (<a href="https://m.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/How_a_mission_is_chosen">ESA</a>), for instance, classifies its space missions into three categories — the S class, the M class and the L class (small, medium and large class)," explains Giri. The National Aeronautics and Space Agency (<a href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20180007026.pdf">NASA</a>) also classifies its missions from Class A to D depending on the priority of the mission, its national significance, the mission’s lifetime and how much it’s going to cost. "For instance, there are a few American missions that have been going on for over a decade. And, that takes a lot of money," Giri adds. In India, on the other hand, most of the projects have very short timelines. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/after-mangalyaan-india-wants-to-be-the-first-to-explore-the-dark-side-of-the-moon/articleshow/64793523.cms">Mangalyaan</a> was sanctioned and deployed within a span of two years. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/how-india-is-inching-a-step-closer-to-its-mission-of-sending-an-astronaut-into-space-by-2022/articleshow/66632355.cms">Gangayaan</a> was announced in 2018 and has plans to get astronauts off the ground by 2021. Even <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/what-were-the-challenges-with-chandrayaan-1/articleshow/70202192.cms">Chandrayaan 1</a>, India’s mission to the moon that led to the discovery of water was announced in 2003 and launched by 2008. It was planned that the mission would operate for 2 years, but communication with the probe was lost after 10 months. MAVEN vs MOM The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/mars-orbiter-mission-completes-4-years-in-pictures/articleshow/65972664.cms">Mars Orbiter Mission</a>, or Mangalyaan, was sanctioned in 2011 and launched a mere two years later in 2013 on a budget of $74 million. NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft, on the other hand, cost $671 million and launched a little later in 2013. Explaining the difference between the Mars missions, Giri states, "MOM, when it was launched, was touted as a technology demonstrator mission. We had never gone to Mars before, so the prerogative was to reach there and take those sojourn of months and do some basic science. Secondly, we went there on a PSLV rocket. PSLV can only carry a spacecraft, that’s at most, 1.5 tonnes." "And, if you look in comparison, the MAVEN was much heavier. MAVEN was laden a lot of diverse instruments and we were carrying only 5 instruments. So, we can’t really expect much science from those five instruments," Giri adds. More money more power India’s smaller budgets aren’t a matter of choice but necessity. ESA and NASA aren’t exclusively dependent on government spending — they nurture the private space industrial sector as well. In India, private participation in what is largely considered to be ISRO’s domain, is absent. And, one of the things standing in the way is the Space Activities Bill. "Space Activities Bill has not been discussed in the Parliament. The first version was tabled but it was never taken up. There needs to be some consensus within the space industrial sector in India. If there is unity among them, then things might proceed," says Giri. The government is reportedly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-space-activities-bill-addresses-damage-in-outer-space/articleshow/69960212.cms">processing the bill</a> to align its liabilities in outer space with international standards. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/heres-why-chandrayaan-2-is-landmark-moon-mission-for-india/articleshow/69842571.cms">India's second moon mission Chandrayaan 2 that will cost ₹10 billion will break new records</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-is-spending-1-4-billion-on-a-space-trip-and-there-are-bigger-plans-involved/articleshow/65591318.cms">India is spending $1.4 billion on a space trip and there are bigger plans involved</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/union-budget-2019-isros-new-commerical-arm-is-new-space-india-limited/articleshow/70086097.cms">India forms a new space company to sell ISRO’s space technology products</a>

India’s low cost space missions come at a price

<keyword id="116095" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Indian-Space-Research-Organisation">Indian Space Research Organisation</keyword>'s <keyword id="6625456" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mars-Orbiter-Mission">Mars orbiter Mission</keyword> (MOM), <keyword id="1506013" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="mangalyaan">Mangalyaan</keyword>, is just two days away from its much talked-about date with the <keyword id="6385434" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Red-Planet">Red Planet</keyword>. Scientists at ISRO have successfully tired-fired its main liquid engine at 2:30 pm (IST) on Monday. Soon after the test-firing of the MOM, the Indian space agency's <keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword> page said, "We had a perfect burn for four seconds as programmed. The trajectory has been corrected. MOM will now go for the nominal plan for <keyword id="47638" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mars">Mars</keyword> Orbit Insertion." 
 
India also became the first Asian country to reach the Martian neighbourhood earlier during the day. "Our navigators' calculations show that MOM has entered the gravitational sphere of influence of Mars around 9am," said ISRO’s Facebook page. 
 Reports suggest that on September 24, Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> is scheduled to witness the historic occasion when the ISRO’s spacecraft will be inserted into the Mars orbit around 7:30 am at a distance of 423 km from its surface and 215 million km away (radio distance) from Earth. Researchers believe that this step will certainly boost up the morale of Indian space scientists. 
 
The Mangalyaan probe, which is India’s first interplanetary mission, has a Rs 450-crore price tag. The mission was launched on November 5, 2013 to find evidence of life on the Red Planet. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Mission-Mars-ISROs-Mangalyaan-Heads-For-Final-Destination/articleshow/42791735.cms">Earlier, we had reported that the mission is simply to test the ISRO’s ability to take something all the way upto Mars and make it go around the planet.</a> 
 
If ISRO’s MOM reaches its destination successfully, India will become fourth country after the US, Russia and Europe to send a probe to Mars. 
(Image: indiatimes)

You Searched For "india mission to mars" and got 11 results

Putting India's Absurdly Cheap Mission To Mars In Perspective

Adam Taylor

France just announced plans to help India land on Mars for the first time

Jessica Orwig

The truth of ISRO's Mangalyaan which Akshay Kumar's Mission Mangal could miss

Prabhjote Gill

India Is Pioneering The Low-Cost Mission To Mars

Saranya Kapur

Akshay Kumar-starrer Mission Mangal has covered a fifth of its budget on the first day — and it has 3 more days in the opening weekend

Preeti Soni

Space Scientist Expresses Confidence Of Mangalyaan’s Success

BI India Bureau

5 Surprising Things That Cost More Than India's Historic Mission To Mars

Mike Bird

Why Mars? To Find The Elusive Methane And Secrets Of Life

TOI

Mars Orbiter Mission completes 4 years: In pictures

Prabhjote Gill

India’s low cost space missions come at a price

Prabhjote Gill

India's Voyage To Mars: ISRO's Mangalyaan Wakes Up After 300 Days Of Sleep!

Saba Haider

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides