Chennai, Sep 2 (IANS) There are 23 more days to go for India’s Mars Orbiter spacecraft to enter the Mars orbit while the mission has completed 300 days, said the Indian space agency.
In a posting on the micro-blogging site Twitter, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said: “The Mars Orbiter Mission completed 300 days in space. Just 23 days more to reach Mars.”
According to ISRO, the Mars Orbiter payloads were in good health.
On Sep 14, ISRO officials would correct the spacecraft’s trajectory. It is expected to enter the Mars Orbit 10 days later.
On Sept 24, the manoeuvring of the spacecraft will begin around 7.30 a.m. The spacecraft’s speed will be reduced from the current velocity so that the Orbiter enters the Mars orbit.
Of the Rs.450 crore budget on the project, India has spent Rs.349 crore on its Mars Orbiter Mission as on March 31 this year. The Mars Orbiter was launched Nov 5, 2013.