Space exploration in numbers: what the Mangalyaan mission means for the future of space missions

As India successfully completes a maiden mission to Mars, the Telegraph puts this historic moment, which was done on a minimal budget, into context

By Keely Lockhart, and AP

5:11PM BST 24 Sep 2014

India has triumphed in its first interplanetary mission, placing a satellite into orbit around Mars and catapulting the country into an elite club of deep-space explorers.

India was particularly proud that MOM was developed with homegrown technology and for a bargain price of about £45 million - compared with Nasa's £1.5 billion for its Maven orbiter.

As Nasa winds down its manned missions, it's likely that countries such as China, and private investors will take up the baton - with companies such as Elon Musk's SpaceX and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic plan their first suborbital flights.

Meanwhile, Britain continues so feed money into the European Space Agency - which is currently monitoring the Rosetta spacecraft which it plans to land on a comet.

Getting a spaceship successfully into orbit around Mars is no easy task. More than half the world's previous attempts - 23 out of 41 missions - have failed. India wanted this spacecraft, also called Mangalyaan, meaning "Mars craft" in Hindi, to be a global advertisement for its ability in designing, planning and managing a difficult, deep-space mission.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/11119177/Space-exploration-in-numbers-what-the-Mangalyaan-mission-means-for-the-future-of-space-missions.html