Mangalyaan, Mars Orbiter Mission

Mangalyaan, the Mars Orbiter Mission is the latest hot topic everywhere in India including social media. Mangalyaan was launched on 5 November 2013 and successfully entered Mars on 24 September 2014. It is carried out by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). ISRO is the fourth Space Agency to reach Mars.The first three Agencies that reached Mars are Soviet space program, NASA and the European Space Agency.The success caught the attention of the whole world and created a latest sensation on social media.

India created history by making its maiden attempt successful and becoming the first Asian country to enter the Mars orbit. Due to delay in radio signals, the entry of spacecraft into orbit was recorded 12 minutes late. It is a long journey of more than 300 days. It is the biggest achievement in Indian history as the country succeeded in its first attempt, where, even the Americans and the Soviets did not. Mangalyaan is the cheapest inter-planetary mission as it costs Rs. 450 crore equivalent to just $74 million which is equal to one tenth of Nasa’s Mars mission Maven. Maven entered the Mars orbit on September 22. The cost is less than the estimated $100 million budget of the sci-fi blockbuster “Gravity”. The success of Mars Mission is a huge hit on social media like Twitter and Facebook. The terms Mars Mission and Mangalyaan have been tweeted for more than 20,000 times and the number has been increasing. It filled the walls of thousands of Facebook accounts and millions of Indians congratulated each other with joy for this historic milestone.

Photo by Nicolas Lobos on Unsplash (Free for commercial use)

Image Reference: https://unsplash.com/photos/NR_tXTuyTak