China has beaten India in space in almost every aspect but when it comes to explore the plant Mars, India sees the Mangalyaan, its first Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), as an opportunity to beat its regional rival China in reaching the Red Plant.
Past records say that probes to the Red Planet have a high failure rate. And if the Rs 450 crore mission turns out to be a success, India will be the first Asian nation to have reached Mars in the first shot itself and ISRO will be the fourth space agency in the world after the United States, Russia and Europe to have undertake a successful Mars mission.
In November 2011, a Russian mission carrying the Chinese satellite, Yinghuo-1, to Mars failed. Japan also failed in a similar effort in 1998.
On Monday, ISRO will perform the crucial fourth trajectory correction manoeuvre and test fire of the main liquid engine on the spacecraft.
Mangalyaan space probe nears Mars orbit; scheduled to arrive Wednesday
India eyes to beat China in race to reach Mars
isro mars 2014
Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)
