India became the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit with its Mars Orbiter Mission.
The spacecraft, popularly called Mangalyaan, entered Mars orbit on September 24, 2014. It was developed and launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation, or ISRO. The mission demonstrated India’s ability to design, launch, and operate an interplanetary spacecraft.
Mangalyaan carried instruments for studying Mars’s surface, atmosphere, and exosphere. Its original mission was planned for about six months, but the spacecraft operated for several years before contact was lost in 2022.
India was also the first country to reach Mars orbit on its first attempt. The achievement is distinct from landing on Mars: Mangalyaan orbited the planet but did not descend to the surface.