An Indian orbiter reached Mars five years ago, and it’s still ticking

• 

  This gallery highlights images captured by the Mars Orbiter Mission. Here, a global mosaic of Mars. [credit: ISRO ]

Without fanfare, an Indian spacecraft just completed its fifth year in orbit around Mars last week. As the spacecraft nears the end of its design lifetime, this is a moment that seems worth a little more recognition.

When it launched the Mars Orbiter Mission in November, 2013, India had never attempted an interplanetary flight before. And Mars is really treacherous. About 50% of spacecraft sent to Mars fail either upon launch, attempting to enter orbit, or landing on the surface. India made it on the country's first try, with a budget significantly less than $100 million. The spacecraft remains in good working order, with fuel for at least another year of operations.

While the orbiter didn't make any huge new scientific discoveries-it had neither the very best cameras nor instruments among its modest 15kg of payload-it carried far more weight symbolically as it expanded the community of Mars exploration beyond the traditional space-faring nations. Before the Mars Orbiter Mission reached Mars, only the United States, Soviet Union, and European Space Agency had successfully sent robotic missions to Mars.

Read 6 remaining paragraphs | Comments