ISRO’s Mangalyaan Just 23 Days Away From Its Maiden Tryst With Mars

The Indian space agency ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MoM), also known as Mangalyaan, which has completed 300 days of its journey in space, is now just 23 more days away from its much talked-about rendezvous with the Red Planet. "Mars Orbiter Mission completes 300 days in space. Just 23 days more to reach Mars", Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on its microblogging site.

The Rs 450-crore project was launched from Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota by the old workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on November 5, 2013. Scientists across the globe feel that this mission will give a major boost to the Indian scientific community.

Last week, the spacecraft had completed 90% of its journey towards Mars. According to scientists working with ISRO, the MoM and its payload are in good health, and the spacecraft has travelled 622 million km in its heliocentric trajectory towards Mars at a velocity of 22.33 km a second.
(Image: Wikipedia)