Originally designed to last only six months, India’s Mars Orbiter Mission, also known as Mangalyaan, completed 1,000 earth days in orbit around the Red Planet, exceeding all expectations of the $74 million mission.
Launched by state-owned Indian Space Research Organization on November 5, 2013, Mangalyaan entered Mars’ orbit on September 24, 2014, in its first attempt.
The color camera on the satellite has produced more than 715 images, the Indian Space Agency said, adding that data from the orbiter mission’s first year, released last September, is available for public use.
The other 4 scientific payloads on board the orbiter are: A methane sensor; an experiment that helps to gauge the solar forcing on the Mars atmosphere; one that measures emitted thermal infrared radiation; and another one that helps to calculate the deuterium to hydrogen ratio (D/H ratio) in the planet’s atmosphere, reports the Hindustan Times.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
