Mars on a Budget: How India Achieved the Cheapest-Ever Interplanetary Martian Mission

Late Wednesday night, India made history by becoming the first nation to successfully enter Mars’s orbit on its first attempt. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman K Radhakrishnan claimed that this is “the cheapest interplanetary mission to ever be undertaken by the world.” The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) cost $74 million, a fraction of other Mars…