India to launch Mars Orbiter Mission on October 28 without NASA support

Once launched, the MOM would go around the earth for 20-25 days before embarking on a nine month voyage to Mars.


Web Desk October 05, 2013
Once launched, the MOM would go around the earth for 20-25 days before embarking on a nine month voyage to Mars. PHOTO: REUTERS

BANGALORE: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said that India's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) will go ahead as scheduled on October 28, according to Indian news site NDTV.

ISRO spokesperson dismissed suggestions that American space agency NASA may not be in a position to offer India deep space network support following government shutdown in the US.

"There is no delay," he said. "We are going ahead with our MOM as scheduled."

The Bangalore-headquartered space agency is drawing comfort from NASA's announcement that it would go ahead with its own MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) mission, slated for launch as early as November 18.

This, in other words, means that NASA would have to keep its DSN, an international network of antennas that track interplanetary spacecraft missions, operational.

Once launched, the MOM would go around the earth for 20-25 days before embarking on a nine month voyage to Mars.

COMMENTS (73)

Mohammed A. Nayeem | 11 years ago | Reply

We south asians don't have guts to appreciate good when it comes across the border. When all Pakitanis are speaking about poverty in India, then why Pakistan government is begging and spending so much in military, good work should start from home not from neighbours. People living in glass building shouldn't throw stones on others. Being Indians we are proud of our scientist. God bless INDIA.

ajith | 11 years ago | Reply

@Siddiqui: LOL, we are talking of real world satellites dude , not experimental nano satellites which ran for 5 months..our students in IIT has built better ones ..Badar ..you should have named it Babar , or ghaznavi,..thats your style rite..lol , the one that we launched now is as big as a car ...you uneducated fool

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