India's Mars mission covers half the distance

India's Mars mission covers half the distance

The maiden Indian space mission to Mars crossed half the total distance to the red planet from Earth today and the spacecraft is moving on its defined helio-centric trajectory so far.

ISRO said that the Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft crossed the mid-point of its path to Mars at exactly 09.50 am (IST). The MOM has travelled 337.5 million km in its elliptical orbit around the sun after taking off.

The scientists associated with the mission said that it took four minutes and 15 seconds for a message to reach the spacecraft and return.

Scientists said that the MOM was on its track and it is now not necessary to consider second Trajectory Correction Manouvre (TCM) planned on the spacecraft and it will now be performed in June.

ISRO is using its Deep Space Network to continuously monitor the spacecraft and the five scientific instruments that are loaded on it.

"Soon, the High Gain Antenna of the spacecraft will be put in service for handling communications with the ground stations," an ISRO statement said.

The ISRO has planned four TCMs planned on the spacecraft and the first was performed on December 10 last year. The remaining three will be done in June, August and September, respectively.

The mission was launched on November 5, 2013 on board PSLV C 25 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota spaceport. The mission worth Rs 450 crore will explore the presence of Methane in the Red Planet.