It made history! On 24 September 2014, the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Mars mission, Mangalyaan, settled into its elliptical orbit around Mars as planned, with 40 kg of fuel to spare, 20 kg in excess of what was needed to complete its six-month planned mission!
Though over the next couple of months, the orbiter completed its mission objectives, it had enough fuel to remain operational, and its mission was extended. It continues to collect and transmit data to date, even on its seventh year in Mars orbit! Over this period, thanks to its autonomous functioning capabilities, Mangalyaan overcame an extended communications “blackout” in 2015 when Mars went out of the Earth’s sight behind the Sun in a solar conjunction, and a communications “whiteout” in 2016 when the Earth came in between the Sun and Mars with the solar radiation making it difficult for the spacecraft to receive signals from the Earth. Mangalyaan’s contribution to advancing the Indian space mission has been acknowledged in a unique way – a sketch of the spacecraft that features on the new Indian 2,000-Rupee note! It was also listed as one of the 25 best inventions of 2014 in Time magazine.
Picture Credit : Google
