India launched unmanned ships onto Mars in 2013

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee announced that the country will launch unmanned spacecraft to Mars in October 2013.

An Indian satellite launch at the dance center
Satish Dhawan pillar in Sriharikota on 9/9/2012

Accordingly, the spacecraft will carry out a 300-day journey to Mars to collect climate and geological data on the planet.

Space research programs, especially conquering Mars, are seen as an important goal of India to catch up with the thriving countries in space such as the US, Russia, Japan and China.

'We are ready to carry out the missions made in 2013 including bringing the spacecraft to Mars and launching a positioning satellite into orbit,' said Mukherjee.

The estimated total cost for the missions is about US $ 70 million. Earlier, India launched an unmanned probe to the Moon in 2008.

However, India's space projects are facing criticism when the country is full of poor people and degraded infrastructure.