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Two weeks ago, India launched its Mangalyaan mission to Mars. The mission, which will take ten months to reach Mars, is intended to study the Martian atmosphere and conduct scientific tests to determine if any forms of life exist on the Red Planet. If India’s mission is successful, it would become the first Asian nation to launch a successful Martian mission and it would become the first nation to successfully reach Mars in its first mission attempt. Success would also increase the prominence of the Indian space program, which launched a successful lunar mission in 2008. Since China is considered the preeminent space power in Asia, having already placed a men and women in Earth’s orbit and having more powerful rockets than India, analysts are speculating that India’s Mars mission could inaugurate a space race between both powers, setting the tone for twenty-first century space exploration.
This topic brief will describe India’s Mars mission and compare it to other Asian nations that have pursued a space exploration, assess how the Mars mission can enhance India’s international profile, and then assess the status of the Asian space race.
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