NEW DELHI, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- NASA's Mars-orbiting space probe, MAVEN, is set to get some company Tuesday night, as India's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) prepares to insert its own spacecraft into orbit around the Red Planet. The probe, called Mangalyaan, Hindi for "Mars-Craft," performed a brief engine test Monday and is scheduled to fire it up once more Tuesday at 9:47 p.m. EDT.
Mangalyaan will keep its engine burning for 24 minutes, giving the probe the final burst it needs to insert itself in Mars' upper atmosphere and let gravity take over. Once in orbit, MOM will begin observing both the atmosphere and surface of Mars.