Indian Mars mission takes off

India's workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle blasted off Tuesday with the country's first Mars mission, a low-budget project marking India's foray into an elite club of space powers.

The Mars Orbiter Mission, a 1.5-ton probe developed and built for $73 million, launched atop the 145-foot-tall PSLV at 0908 GMT (4:08 a.m. EST), or 2:38 p.m. local time in India.

These images show the liftoff from remote cameras around the launch pad.

See our Mission Status Center for live coverage of the launch.

Credit: ISRO

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