In what’s described as a “textbook launch”, India on Tuesday launched its maiden spacecraft to Mars, and became only the sixth nation in the world to do so.

The Polar rocket carrying the Mars orbiter took off from Sriharikota in the state of Andhra Pradesh, about 100 km from Chennai, at 2.38 PM IST amid thundering cheers from a group of scientists at the launch pad, who were joined by hundreds of enthusiastic people gathered at the venue since the morning.

While India joins the US, Soviet Union, European Union, China and Japan in launching a Mars mission, if the mission succeeds it will earn the distinction of being only the fourth nation after the US, Soviet Union and European Union.

Led by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman, K Radhakrishnan, several eminent scientists from the country were present on the occasion to witness the launch. Minister of State in PMO, V Narayanasamy and US Ambassador to India, Nancy Powell, were among the chief dignitaries who saw the rocket lifting off successfully of ISRO’s workhorse launch vehicle PSLV-C25 from the Satish Dhawan Space Center.

Exactly 44 minutes after the launch, the orbiter was sent into Earth’s orbit after separating from the rocket. It will start a nine-month long voyage to Mars on December 1 after revolving the Earth for about three weeks in an elliptical orbit.

Mission Director P Kunhikrishnan told reporters soon after the launch that the Mars mission was aimed at drawing the attention of the youth in India, in particular, and elsewhere, in general. “Capturing and igniting the young minds of India and across the globe will be the major return from this mission”, he said.

Noting that India was capable of undertaking such space missions, head of the space center S Ramakrishnan said: “with teamwork and the kind of dedication we have today any mission is not beyond our capability”.

Fingers Crossed

Preferring to keep his fingers crossed about the ultimate success of the mission, ISRO Chairman Radhakrishnan felt that navigating the spacecraft could prove to be a big challenge. “The biggest challenge will be precisely navigating the spacecraft to Mars. We will know if we pass our examination on September 24, 2014.” That is the day when the spacecraft is slated to reach the red planet.

Stepping into the shoes of his predecessor G Madhavan Nair, Radhakrishnan made it a point to worship at the world-famous Venkateswara temple at Tirupati on the eve of the launch. Carrying miniature replicas of the Polar rocket and the spacecraft, the ISRO chief also offered special prayers seeking the blessing of The Almighty to ensure an uninterrupted and successful launch. Interacting with journalists outside the temple, Radhakrishnan said there was a lot of anxiety over the duration of the mission. Although the spacecraft’s launch was put off by some days that will not affect the orbiter from reaching the Mars as scheduled.

While the Congress-led Government is hailing the Mars mission as another milestone in its space mission, critics question the decision to spend a whopping $72 million when a large number of the about 1.2 billion population is still reeling under poverty.