BANGALORE, India - Scientific Secretary of the Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO), V Koteswara Rao, on Monday claimed that India will become the
first Asian nation to reach Mars if orbit insertion goes successful.
"India will be the first Asian country to go to Mars. The second
thing is that if we are successful on 24th, India will be the first 
country to succeed in its maiden attempt," Koteswara Rao said here.
country to succeed in its maiden attempt," Koteswara Rao said here.
"If you see the history of the failed missions they have failed at
various stages, some have failed during the launch which we have
crossed, some of them failed during trans-Mars injection which we have
crossed.... We have completed 98 percent of the journey. The remaining
crucial thing is Mars orbit insertion," he added.
On whether ISRO is collaborating with NASA for a joint Mars working
group, he said, "Right now, there is no concrete plan but both sides are
thinking on those lines it may...in the coming days. We both have to
work together."
Earlier on Sunday, the ISRO reportedly declared that the entire
loading process for inserting the Mars spacecraft into the Red Planet's
orbit on September 24, which began yesterday, will take about 13 hours
to be completed.
ISRO had put the Mars spacecraft onboard Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on November 5, last year.
Source: ANI
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