Bangalore: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) released on Thursday the first image of Mars clicked by the indigenous Mangalyaan, which took India to soaring heights a day ago by slipping into the Red Planet’s orbit on the country’s maiden attempt.
ISRO said the photograph it posted on its Facebook page and Twitter account was taken from “a height of 7300 km; with 376 m spatial resolution”.
ISRO Chief K Radhakrishnan is in Delhi — with hard copies of all the snaps clicked by Mangalyaan — to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
All the photographs will be released after their meeting in the afternoon.
The photographs bear a testimony to the fact that Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), which helped India join an elite club of successful Mars explorers, is in ‘good health’ and performing its duties well.
MOM, according to ISRO scientists, started sending its first high-quality images of the Red Planet late on Wednesday.
“Images are clicked. Data is downloaded. Process is going on,” a top ISRO official said.
The snaps were expected to arrive in the afternoon on the momentous day, but there was no news about them till evening, causing some concern.