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Watch India insert its Mars orbiter live online

"MOM will now go ahead with the nominal plan for Mars Orbit Insertion," Indian officials confirmed.

By Brooks Hays
India's MOM probe is preparing to be inserted into Mars' orbit. (ISRO/Facebook)
India's MOM probe is preparing to be inserted into Mars' orbit. (ISRO/Facebook)

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.

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"We had a perfect burn for four seconds as programmed," officials with India's space agency announced Monday. "The trajectory has been corrected. MOM will now go ahead with the nominal plan for Mars Orbit Insertion."

As the Indian Space Research Organization explains, MOM's scientific objectives include the study of Mars "surface features, morphology, mineralogy and Martian atmosphere by indigenous scientific instruments."

After a 10-month journey to arrive at the Red Planet, Mangalyaan will remain in orbit for 300 days. It's the South Asian nation's first mission Mars, and it's a mission that cost just $74 million -- almost one tenth of MAVEN's $671 million price tag. MAVEN was successfully inserted into Mars orbit on Sunday evening. MAVEN's ground control crew, as well as all of NASA, have sent their well wishes to scientists and engineers working on the MOM mission.

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Viewers around the world will be able to watch mission activities unfold tonight as MOM makes history for India. Live streams will be available here and here.

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