Mars Orbiter Mission to cross a major mile stone on Wednesday

The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), India's first interplanetary exploration programme, is midway to the Red Planet. On Wednesday MOM will cross the mid-point of its path to Mars.

According to Isro sources, tomorrow at 9.50 a.m, MOM spacecraft will cross the mid-point of its path to Mars. By then, MOM would have travelled 337.5 million kms in its elliptical orbit around Sun.

Coincidently this happen just a day after the closest approach of Mars and Earth in their respective orbits which is called an opposition.

MOM is now 38 million kms away from Earth and it takes about four minutes and 10 seconds for two way communication.

Spacecraft is following the designated trajectory so close so that, the trajectory correction planned this month has been deemed unnecessary.

Isro is expected to conduct the next TCM in June 2014 and two more in August and September.

"As planned it will reach on September 24, 2014," said Isro officials.

India's first interplanetary spacecraft, Mars Orbiter was successfully launched on November 5, 2013 at 14:38 hrs (IST), by India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C25, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.

Mars Mission (which was executed on only one third of Nasa's cost of Mars Mission and in first attempt itself it was lifted off while Nasa's first attempt failed) and the cryogenic engine development.