September 24, 2014 is a red-letter day in the annals of India’s space exploration exploration efforts, as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully inserted the country's first Mars Orbiter Mission, popularly known as Mangalyaan, into the red planet's orbit.
The mission is the cheapest yet to Mars. India’s Mars mission has a price tag of about $74 million (Rs 450 crore) and costs even less than the 2013 Hollywood sci-fi film 'Gravity', which had a production cost of $100 million.
It has an as yet unbeaten first. ISRO achieved which no space agency in world including managed to do in their first attempt – reach Mars.
There is another unbeatable first. This must be the first time ever, three space crafts – okay 2 space crafts in orbit, and one rover on ground – from Earth meet each other on another planet – and greet, tweet each other.
:-D
Twitteratti saw a fun exchange of tweets between NASA's 2012 Mars mission Curiosity, ISRO's Mars Orbiter, and NASA's 2014 Mars mission Maven.
While Maven congratulated ISRO for the Mars Orbiter, Curiosity welcomed it on the red planet with "Namaste, @MarsOrbiter! Congratulations to @ISRO and India's first interplanetary mission upon achieving Mars orbit." To this, Mars Orbiter replied, "Howdy @MarsCuriosity? Keep in touch. I'll be around."
:lol:
![MAVEN-MOM-Curiosity-tweet-greets MAVEN-MOM-Curiosity-tweet-greets](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-KyQ5Z-heaBc/VCJmM_YFaiI/AAAAAAAAMw8/O4Gg4xq_PZU/MAVEN-MOM-Curiosity-tweet-greets_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
The mission is the cheapest yet to Mars. India’s Mars mission has a price tag of about $74 million (Rs 450 crore) and costs even less than the 2013 Hollywood sci-fi film 'Gravity', which had a production cost of $100 million.
It has an as yet unbeaten first. ISRO achieved which no space agency in world including managed to do in their first attempt – reach Mars.
There is another unbeatable first. This must be the first time ever, three space crafts – okay 2 space crafts in orbit, and one rover on ground – from Earth meet each other on another planet – and greet, tweet each other.
:-D
Twitteratti saw a fun exchange of tweets between NASA's 2012 Mars mission Curiosity, ISRO's Mars Orbiter, and NASA's 2014 Mars mission Maven.
While Maven congratulated ISRO for the Mars Orbiter, Curiosity welcomed it on the red planet with "Namaste, @MarsOrbiter! Congratulations to @ISRO and India's first interplanetary mission upon achieving Mars orbit." To this, Mars Orbiter replied, "Howdy @MarsCuriosity? Keep in touch. I'll be around."
:lol:
![MAVEN-MOM-Curiosity-tweet-greets MAVEN-MOM-Curiosity-tweet-greets](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-KyQ5Z-heaBc/VCJmM_YFaiI/AAAAAAAAMw8/O4Gg4xq_PZU/MAVEN-MOM-Curiosity-tweet-greets_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)