Bangalore:
The Red Planet, Mars, is beckoning India. The country is getting ready to undertake its first inter-planetary voyage and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has, in record time, put together a satellite that will fly all the way to the planet, Earth's closest neighbour. With this, India will enter a select club of nations like USA, Russia, China, Japan and the European Space Agency that have dared to go to Mars.
"The Mars satellite is in its final phase of testing and it will be launched by PSLV, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its PSLV C-25 flight which happens to be the 25th flight of our time-tested PSLV," ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan told NDTV.
Called 'Mangalyaan', the unmanned satellite, weighing 1350 kg - it's of the size of a Tata Nano car - and made at a cost of Rs 150 crore, will be launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on November 5. The launch window will remain open till November 19.
The satellite will analyse the thin atmosphere of Mars - almost smelling, tasting and carefully observing the constituents of its atmosphere through five special Indian-made equipment it is carrying and will search for the presence of methane gas, hoping to provide the first signs of life if it ever existed on the Red Planet.
The satellite has been coated with a golden film to protect it from the extreme heat and cold conditions that it faces during its nine-month-long journey to Mars.
The ambitious mission also offers India with a real chance of beating China to Mars, and consequently a major boost to national pride.