ISRO's Mars Orbiter sends first picture of Earth, cyclone 'Helen' captured

The picture has captured the Indian subcontinent and parts of Africa, especially Cyclone Helen, hovering off the Andhra Pradesh coast. This is the first time after launch that an instrument on board has been checked for its operation.


The Indian Meteorological Department(IMD) said 'Helen' will cross the AP coast tomorrow and bring very heavy rainfall under its influence.

Earlier, ISRO had performed all five orbit raising manoeuvres planned on the Mars Orbiter and raised the apogee of the spacecraft to over 1.92 lakh km.

After the successful completion of these operations, the Mars Orbiter mission is expected to take on the "crucial event" of the trans-Mars injection around 12.42 AM on December 1. It will reach the red planet's orbit by September 24, 2014 after an over 10 month voyage.