Manmohan Singh lauds ISRO for Mars Orbiter Mission 'Mangalyaan'

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday congratulated the scientists of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for the successful launch of the Mars Orbiter Mission 'Mangalyaan'.

In his message, he said that the successful launch is a testimony to ISRO's mastery of the launch vehicle technology.

"I congratulate all scientists of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for the successful launch today of the Mars Orbiter Mission, the most complex space mission of the country. The successful launch is the first step towards a successful mission, and is testimony to ISRO's mastery of the launch vehicle technology," he said.

"I wish the ISRO scientists all the best for the delicate next steps in this ambitious and long mission to Mars, which will be the most significant milestone in our space programme, and I remain confident that they will do the country proud," he added.

India's Mars Orbiter Mission, Mangalyaan, launched through PSLV C 25 at 2.38 pm this afternoon from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.

The 44 metre tall PSLV C25 in its XL configuration carried the 1337 kg MARS orbiter into elliptical orbit which is 23,500 km from the earth.

To reach Mars, the spacecraft has to enter three phases, the earth centered phase, the helio centric phase and finally the Martian phase.

It will take twenty-five more days for Mangalyaan to depart from the earth orbit to the trajectory path.

European Space Agency (ESA) of European consortium, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the US and Roscosmos of Russia are the only three agencies which have so far sent their missions to the red planet.