---
title: "Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan): ISRO's Mars Probe"
description: "Mangalyaan, India's Mars Orbiter Mission, reached Mars on 24 September 2014, making ISRO the first agency to succeed on its maiden attempt at the planet."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/mars-orbiter-mission-mangalyaan"
---

[New](https://modeldiplomat.com/)

#

Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The Mars Orbiter Mission, called Mangalyaan, was India's first interplanetary spacecraft, launched by ISRO in 2013 and inserted into Martian orbit on 24 September 2014.
- Why did Mangalyaan use Earth-bound orbit-raising manoeuvres instead of a direct launch to Mars?
- How does Mangalyaan differ from the Chandrayaan missions?
- What made Mangalyaan significant despite its modest scientific payload?
- Is the Mars Orbiter Mission still operational?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

The Mars Orbiter Mission, called Mangalyaan, was India's first interplanetary spacecraft, launched by ISRO in 2013 and inserted into Martian orbit on 24 September 2014.

Go beyond the definition

## Research Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) like a delegate

Model Diplomat's AI drafts position papers, speeches, and country research with real sources — built for MUN and politics students.

## Timeline

1. 24 September 2014

   The Mars Orbiter Mission, called Mangalyaan, was India's first interplanetary spacecraft, launched by ISRO in 2013 and inserted into Martian orbit on .

2. 5 November 2013

   Mangalyaan launched on from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in its extended XL configuration (PSLV-C25).

3. 30 November 2013

   Because the PSLV lacked the energy to inject the spacecraft directly onto a trans-Mars trajectory, ISRO employed a series of Earth-bound orbit-raising manoeu…

4. 1 December 2013

   The trans-Mars injection burn on placed Mangalyaan on its heliocentric cruise.

## Positions at a glance

### Supporters

The spacecraft itself weighed approximately 1,337 kilograms at launch, of which around 852 kilograms was propellant, leaving a scientific payload of just 15 kilograms. That payload comprised five instruments: the Mars Colour Camera, the Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer, the Methane Sensor for Mars, the Lyman-Alpha Photometer, and the Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser. The orbit was deliberately eccentric — a periapsis near 420 kilometres and an apoapsis exceeding 76,000 kilometres — which allowed the Mars Colour Camera to capture full-disc images of the planet, a vantage rarely available to orbiters in tighter paths. Communication relied on the Indian Deep Space Network at Byalalu near Bengaluru, supplemented by NASA's Deep Space Network for tracking support during cruise.

### Opponents

Controversy and critique have attended the mission chiefly on questions of scientific yield versus prestige. Critics argued that the 15-kilogram payload and elliptical orbit limited rigorous data collection, and that the mission's primary value was demonstrative and diplomatic rather than research-driven. Defenders countered that the demonstrated capability — interplanetary navigation, deep-space autonomy, and frugal engineering — was itself the principal deliverable, and that the cost discipline established a benchmark for affordable planetary exploration. The mission's methane sensor, intended to probe a biosignature question, returned ambiguous results. ISRO's later confirmation in 2022 that contact was lost closed the operational chapter while leaving the programme's reputation as a milestone intact.

## Research it like a delegate

Research on modeldiplomat.com

## Ask a follow-up about Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan)

Open a cited briefing in Model Diplomat search — timelines, positions, and sources you can use in committee or exam answers.

[Start research on Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan)](https://modeldiplomat.com/search?q=Explain%20Mars%20Orbiter%20Mission%20\(Mangalyaan\)%20%E2%80%94%20key%20dates%2C%20actors%2C%20positions%2C%20and%20sources)

Example

On 24 September 2014, ISRO inserted Mangalyaan into orbit around Mars while Prime Minister Narendra Modi watched from the mission control centre in Bengaluru, making India the first nation to reach Mars on its first attempt.

Keep learning

## Go deeper than the definition

[Explore all Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams lessons](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services)[Test yourself with a quiz](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/quiz/civil-services)

## Take Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) beyond the glossary

Ask the AI research engine built for diplomacy — get briefings, position papers, and speeches with sources you can cite in committee.