Posted: Sat, Aug 4, 2012, 9:27 AM ET (1327 GMT)
The Indian government approved on Friday a project to send that country's first mission to the planet Mars. The small Mars spacecraft is slated for launch in November 2013 on a PSLV rocket and go into a highly elliptical orbit of 500 by 80,000 kilometers around Mars. The spacecraft will carry a 25-kilogram payload of scientific instruments to study the planet's atmosphere. The total cost of the mission is estimated to be about 4.5 billion rupees (US$80 million).

Related Links:

•  The Hindu article
•  BBC article
•  PTI article
•  NDTV article
•  Reuters article