TheCable

Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, has expressed delight over the success of the country in reaching Mars on its debut attempt, noting that India has become the first nation to accomplish such feat.

He described the success as proof of the country’s determination to succeed, commending scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), for the laudable achievement.

“India has reached Mars; history has been created. We are the only country to have succeeded in its first attempt,” he said.

“We have made it a habit of achieving the impossible. Humanity would not have progressed if we had not taken such leaps into the unknown and space is the biggest unknown out there.”

He announced that with $74m, the headquarters of the state-owned space agency in the southern city of Bangalore made indigenous space programme the cheapest inter-planetary mission ever to be undertaken in the country.

Modi said that since November 2013 when Mars Orbiter Mission, (MOM) was named, he knew it would not disappoint.

“You have inspired our future generation, in spite of our many limitations; we aspired for the best and the success of our space programme has been an example of our achievement,” he said.

“India has now joined the US the European Space Agency and the former Soviet Union in the elite club of Martian explorers.”