Article Posted on : - Feb 21, 2013

NEW DELHI (PTI): India will launch its first space mission to Mars this year, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Thursday.

"Several space missions are planned for 2013, including India's first mission to Mars and the launch of our first navigational satellite," Mukherjee said in his maiden address to the joint sitting of Parliament at the start of the budget session.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will also put in orbit the first of its seven satellites of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). The system is India's version of the Global Positioning System.

The Mars Orbiter mission, scheduled for launch in October, will look for signature of life and reasons for loss of atmosphere on the red planet.

Under the mission, India will put in orbit a spacecraft using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. The satellite will undertake a 300-day journey to Mars and is expected to be put into the Martian orbit in September next year.

Mukherjee said the space programme epitomised India's scientific achievements and benefits the country in a number of areas.

"The launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on September 9, 2012 marked our 100th space mission. India's first remote sensing satellite RISAT-1, with all-weather imaging capability, was also launched in 2012," he said.