1.2 Billion Indians Have Reason to Cheer: India's Mars Orbiter Just Snapped its 1st Picture of Earth

The first image of Earth from India's Mars Orbiter Mission. (Source: ISRO) You've probably heard of NASA's Maven mission to Mars, which launched two days ago. The spacecraft is designed to explore the the Red Planet's upper atmosphere and return insights into whether Mars was ever habitable. But did you know that India has sent its own spacecraft on a mission to the Red Planet?: the Mars Orbiter Mission. The picture above is the first one of Earth sent back by, well, MOM. And it's appropriately centered on the Indian subcontinent. It's featured on the Indian Space Research Organisation Facebook page. (Also, kudos to Emily Lakdawalla, who blogged about it today at the Planetary Society.) The spacecraft is currently orbiting Earth, getting ready for its long journey to Mars. India, I don't hear you. I may be on the other side of the Earth, but if all 1.2 billion of you were cheering, I really should be able to pick up the sound...