India`s spacecraft orbits Mars successfully in maiden attempt

Mangalyaan, India`s maiden spacecraft to Mars, successfully entered the Red Planet`s orbit Wednesday. India has become the fourth country after the U.S., EU and Russia to send spacecraft to Mars, and is the first Asian country to do so.

India`s Space Research Organization announced Wednesday that Mangalyaan maneuvered into the planet`s orbit following an over-600 million kilometer voyage that lasted for 10 months. "History has been created," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the ISRO base. Mangalyaan, which means "Mars craft" in Hindi, is the size of a small car weighing 1.35 tons. The probe is expected to circle Mars for six to 10 months, about 500 kilometers from its surface, and will collect planetary data ranging from atmospheric to surface and send them back to Earth. It will also detect for signs of methane gas in its atmosphere to find signs of life.

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India is the first country to reach Mars on its maiden attempt. No single nation had previously succeeded at its first go. Among Asian countries, Japan and China sent spacecraft to Mars in 1999 and 2011, respectively, but failed in entering the orbit.