Mars has become the destination of choice for ambitious space agencies and nations, and now India is among that group. After a successful maneuver, the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) has entered an orbit about 420 km above the surface of Mars (MOM is informally called Mangalyaan, which is Hindi for Mars vehicle). It will soon begin to photograph the planet’s surface and analyze the atmospheric composition.

(Disclosure: As a member of two previous missions to Mars, I understand the excitement and challenges of landing, or in the case of Mangalyaan, orbital insertion. Waiting for a signal telling the ground staff about the mission’s fate must have been a nerve-wracking time for staff of the Indian Space Research Organization [ISRO].)

Attraction of the red planet

Ever since the earliest telescopic observations in the 17th and 18th centuries, Mars has shown tantalizing hints of seasons, water, and active geological processes. Over the centuries, our understanding about Mars has changed as the resolution of telescopes and spacecraft cameras and spectrometers has greatly improved.

Today, as a result of the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, we know that the red planet once had thick mudstones deposited in large lakes. Drilling by Curiosity has shown us that red color of Mars—the result of iron reacting with oxygen—is only skin deep. Underneath that thin layer of red is a very different planet. This well-preserved history we're discovering may eventually hold clues to the presence of microbial life on Mars.

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Faster, cheaper, better

This is one reason why Mangalyaan and the American MAVEN mission, which entered orbit on September 21, are exciting. They will both be looking for the presence of methane, which could inject fresh energy into the debate over life on Mars. Future rover missions, such as the European Space Agency’s ExoMars or NASA’s Mars2020 carrying new specialized instrumentation, may provide a definitive answer.

ISRO’s achievement is special for other reasons, too. Not only is it the first Asian country to reach Mars, but it is also the world’s cheapest mission to do so. Other aspiring space agencies have been watching, and they will want to learn from India's experience.

At an advertised cost of $72 million, it is a small fraction of the $671 million MAVEN mission. A part of the reason for the frugality is the cost of instruments. Although the underlying lure of Mars is scientific, Mangalyaan is primarily a technology demonstration. Its camera, for instance, will not match that of other Martian probes. Similarly, it will not match MAVEN’s ability to measure the rate at which certain chemicals are lost from Mars' atmosphere.

But the instruments on a space mission, such as those on the planned European rover ExoMars or Curiosity, cost about 10 percent of the overall mission cost. So even if that is factored in, Mangalyaan’s shoe-string budget remains striking.

The biggest cost saving for Mangalyaan came from using ISRO’s existing telecommunications satellite launcher, called the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. Although it couldn’t carry a heavier payload, it was able to push Mangalyaan on the way to Mars for a fraction of the cost. This success will appeal to future commercial users of the ISRO’s launch services. Countries as diverse as Algeria, Israel, Singapore, and Switzerland have been served by ISRO’s commercial arm. With Mangalyaan’s success, more are sure to follow.