Mission Mars: Difficult challenges ahead, says ISRO chief

As the spacecraft approaches the Martian orbit, ISRO would reduce the velocity so that it's captured by Martian orbit; otherwise if it continues with the same velocity, it would fly past Mars.

“Being a complex mission of this nature, any day you advance (of the 300-day journey from earth to Mars), it's a progress,” ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan said.  ISRO has incorporated autonomous features in MOM spacecraft to handle contingencies.

“As it moves towards Mars, given the distance between Mars and earth, you will encounter communication delay 20 minutes one way. It means when signals are sent from ground stations, it will take 20 minutes to reach the spacecraft. For about 40 minutes (including time for return communication), there will be a occasion when you do not know what's happening,” an ISRO official said.