<div><span>India's ambitious Rs.450 crore space mission to Mars has now been fixed for blast-off Nov 5, said a top Indian space agency official Tuesday.<br /><br /></span><div>"The Mars mission has been fixed for Nov 5. The heat shield of the rocket (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-PSLV) has been closed and the final electrical checks will be carried out Wednesday," K.Radhakrishnan, chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), told IANS.<br /><br /></div><div>The ISRO will be firing its landmark rocket soon after Diwali from its spaceport in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, around 80 km from here.<br /><br /></div><div>The rocket will blast off in the afternoon of Nov 5, a Tuesday. In Tamil, Mars planet is called Sevvai Graham and Tuesday is also called Sevvai. In Hindi, Mars is called Mangal and Tuesday is Mangalwar.<br /><br /></div><div>On Oct 19, ISRO chairman K.Radhakrishnan told IANS that the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) will be delayed by a week as of the two ships - Nalanda and Yamuna - carrying rocket tracking systems, only one has reached Fiji.<br /><br /></div><div>From Fiji, both the ships have to travel to their respective locations to track the rocket.<br /><br /></div><div>The ships have terminals to track the rocket, which has a coasting period of around 20 minutes beyond the visibility of existing ground stations.<br /><br /></div><div>The Mangalayaan mission was originally slated for Oct 28.<br /><br /></div><div>According to ISRO officials, there is no problem as far as the mission is concerned.</div><div><br /></div></div>
<div><span>India's ambitious Rs.450 crore space mission to Mars has now been fixed for blast-off Nov 5, said a top Indian space agency official Tuesday.<br /><br /></span><div>"The Mars mission has been fixed for Nov 5. The heat shield of the rocket (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-PSLV) has been closed and the final electrical checks will be carried out Wednesday," K.Radhakrishnan, chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), told IANS.<br /><br /></div><div>The ISRO will be firing its landmark rocket soon after Diwali from its spaceport in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, around 80 km from here.<br /><br /></div><div>The rocket will blast off in the afternoon of Nov 5, a Tuesday. In Tamil, Mars planet is called Sevvai Graham and Tuesday is also called Sevvai. In Hindi, Mars is called Mangal and Tuesday is Mangalwar.<br /><br /></div><div>On Oct 19, ISRO chairman K.Radhakrishnan told IANS that the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) will be delayed by a week as of the two ships - Nalanda and Yamuna - carrying rocket tracking systems, only one has reached Fiji.<br /><br /></div><div>From Fiji, both the ships have to travel to their respective locations to track the rocket.<br /><br /></div><div>The ships have terminals to track the rocket, which has a coasting period of around 20 minutes beyond the visibility of existing ground stations.<br /><br /></div><div>The Mangalayaan mission was originally slated for Oct 28.<br /><br /></div><div>According to ISRO officials, there is no problem as far as the mission is concerned.</div><div><br /></div></div>