India's Mars mission a step closer to success
333 views · Published 22 September 2014 · 1:29 · Indexed 30 October 2026
Channel: vyganews com · 2014 · Entertainment
Indian scientists successfully tested the main engine of a spacecraft bound for Mars on Monday and performed a course correction that puts the low-cost project on track to enter the red planet's orbit. The $74-million mission will attempt to enter orbit around Mars early on Wednesday. If successful, it will be the first time a mission has entered Mars' orbit on its first attempt, enhancing India's position in the global space race. "Main liquid engine test firing successful ... we had a perfect burn for four seconds as programmed," the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on its social media sites. The engine was tested after being idle for 300 days and will be used with eight small thrusters during orbit entry. Reducing the craft's speed from its current rate of 22 km (13.7 miles) per second would be a key challenge, experts say. The spacecraft, called Mangalyaan, was launched in November last year. The project has been embraced by new Prime Minister Narendra Modi who aims to establish India as a bigger player in the more than $300 billion space technology market, even as neighbouring China gives stiff competition with its bigger launchers.
