Delhi, Oct 3rd,2022: India’s maiden mission to Mars, Mangalyaan, has come to an end after eight years of orbiting around the red planet as it runs out of propellant, and battery drained beyond the safe limit.
ISRO has reportedly lost contact with the spacecraft.
“Right now, there is no fuel left. The satellite battery has drained and the link is lost,” an official in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.
The mission had already exceeded expectations as it remained operational for over eight years when it was designed for a six-month-long mission around Martian orbit.
“Recently there were back-to-back eclipses including one that lasted seven-and-half hours. As the satellite battery is designed to handle an eclipse duration of only about one hour and 40 minutes, a longer eclipse would drain the battery beyond the safe limit”, said an official.
Mangalyaan was launched in 2013 onboard PSLV-C25 as the first interplanetary mission from India, making Isro the fourth space agency in the world to launch such a mission beyond Earth’s orbit.
The spacecraft was a demonstration mission aimed at establishing that India could design, launch and operate a mission on another world.
Developed at just Rs 450 crore, the mission to Mars from India was one of the most cost-effective interplanetary missions ever designed.
