India goes to Mars

India’s “Mangalyaan” Mars probe has successfully entered orbit around the red planet, making it part of the exclusive club of nations to have successfully carried out an interplanetary space mission and successfully beating its rival China to the milestone.

Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, observing the operation from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) control room in Bangalore congratulated the team. “History has been created today…We have gone beyond the boundaries of human enterprise and innovation…we have navigated our craft through a route known to very few” said Modi.

The  4.5 billion rupee ($74 million) mission aims to map the surface of Mars and search for methane gas- an indicator that the planet can support life.

India’s space program is the first to enter the Mars orbit in its first attempt- which cost the ISRO just 11% of a similar U.S. Probe.