Designed for 6 months, India's Mangalyaan still going strong after 4 yrs

Mission was launched on November 5, 2013 and put into Martian orbit on Sept 24, 2014, in its very first attempt

One of the India's most prestigious missions, the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), has completed four years in space since its launch. 

The maiden interplanetary mission of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), which was launched on November 5, 2013, by the 25th flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C25, was put into the Martian orbit on September 24, 2014, in its first attempt. MOM has completed about 1,100 days in orbit.

India's $74-million MOM, called Mangalyaan, was roughly a tenth of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Mars mission, Maven. This spacecraft was designed to last for only six months in the Martian orbit but had surpassed all expectations. It has completed four years in space. 

India’s Mars mission was launched on November 5, 2013, from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. On December 1, 2013, it escaped the Earth’s gravitational field to its 10-month-long space odyssey. 

After completing its 300-day journey, the spacecraft successfully entered the Martian orbit on September 24, 2014, making India the first country in the world to have successfully reached Mars in its first attempt. During its entry into the Mars orbit, the Mangalyaan was carrying a 40-kg fuel load.

In June this year, the Mangalyaan had spent 1,000 Earth days in Martian orbit. During this period, the spacecraft had completed 388 orbits around the red planet.