MUMBAI: India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) entered its 100th orbit around the Red Planet on Monday.

According to Isro , the spacecraft will take about three-and-a-half days to complete the orbit that will end on Thursday.

Launched on November 5, 2013, Rs 450-crore MOM entered the Martian orbit on September 24, 2014.

Isro stated that the spacecraft, which entered a communication blackout period on June 8, is gradually emerging out of that phase and has begun transmitting data to ground stations. The pause took place because the Sun came between Earth and Mars, which happens once in 26 months.

The current elliptical orbit of the spacecraft has a periareon (the point nearest to the Mars surface) of 474km and an apoareion (the farthest point) of 71,132km.

The five payloads on board were last operated in May 2015 and their performance was satisfactory. The Mars Colour Camera has so far taken 405 images. The remaining four payloads will be gradually reactivated in the coming weeks.

Isro chairman A S Kiran Kumar told the media last week in New Delhi that data from the other four payloads was being reviewed and analyzed and will be made public “in due course”.

The spacecraft was designed for a mission life of six months in Mars orbit and this was completed on March 24, 2015. With this the primary objectives of MOM have been realized.

A new Isro app called Sakaar, launched last week, allows Android mobile users to have a 3-D view of MOM and its various aspects as well as some of the other Isro missions.