India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25), carrying the Mars orbiter, lifts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, about 100 km (62 miles) north of the southern Indian city of Chennai November 5, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Babu

By Shyamantha Asokan

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's first mission to Mars left Earth's orbit early on Sunday, clearing a critical hurdle in its journey to the red planet and overtaking the efforts in space of rival Asian giant China.

The success of the spacecraft, scheduled to orbit Mars by next September, would carry India into a small club, which includes the United States, Europe and Russia, whose probes have orbited or landed on Mars.

India's venture, called Mangalyaan, faces more hurdles on its journey to Mars. Fewer than half of missions to the planet are successful.

"While Mangalyaan takes 1.2 billion dreams to Mars, we wish you sweet dreams!" India's space agency said in a tweet soon after the event, referring to the citizens of the world's second-most populous country.

China, a keen competitor in the space race, has considered the possibility of putting a man on the moon sometime after 2020 and aims to land its first probe on the moon on Monday.

It will deploy a buggy called the "Jade Rabbit" to explore the lunar surface in a mission that will also test its deep space communication technologies.

China's Mars probe rode piggyback on a Russian spacecraft that failed to leave Earth's orbit in November 2011. The spacecraft crumbled in the atmosphere and its fragments fell into the Pacific Ocean.

India's mission showcases the country's cheap technology, encouraging hopes it could capture more of the $304-billion global space market, which includes launching satellites for other countries, analysts say.

"Given its cost-effective technology, India is attractive," said Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, an expert on space security at the Observer Research Foundation think-tank in Delhi.

India's low-cost Mars mission has a price tag of 4.5 billion rupees ($73 million), just over one-tenth of the cost of NASA's latest mission there, which launched on November 18.

"BIG ACHIEVEMENT"

Homegrown companies - including India's largest infrastructure group Larsen & Toubro, one of its biggest conglomerates, Godrej & Boyce, state-owned aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Walchand Nagar Industries - made more than two-thirds of the parts for both the probe and the rocket that launched it on November 5.

India's probe completed six orbits around Earth before Sunday's "slingshot," which set it on a path around the sun to carry it toward Mars. The slingshot requires precise calculations to eliminate the risk of missing the new orbit.

"Getting to Mars is a big achievement," said Mayank Vahia, a professor in the astronomy and astrophysics department of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai.

India's space agency will have to make a few mid-course corrections to keep the probe on track. Its next big challenge will be to enter an orbit around Mars next year, a test failed in 2003 by Japan's probe, which suffered electrical faults as it neared the planet.

"You have to slow the spacecraft down once it gets close to Mars, to catch the orbit, but you can't wait until Mars is in the field of view to do it - that's too late," Vahia said.

India launched its space program 50 years ago and developed its own rocket technology after Western powers levied sanctions for a 1974 nuclear weapons test. Five years ago, its Chandrayaan satellite found evidence of water on the moon.

By contrast, India has had mixed results in the aerospace industry. Hindustan Aeronautics has been developing a light combat aircraft since the early 1980s, with no success.

The Mars probe will study the planet's surface and mineral composition, besides sniffing the atmosphere for methane, a chemical strongly tied to life on Earth. NASA mission Curiosity did not find significant amounts of the gas in recent tests.

China is still far from catching up with the established space superpowers, the United States and Russia, which decades ago learned the docking techniques China is only now mastering.

Beijing says its space program is for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. Defense Department has highlighted China's increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing ways to keep adversaries from using space-based assets during a crisis.

(Additional reporting by Krishna N Das in NEW DELHI and Sumeet Chatterjee in MUMBAI; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

India's space program joins exclusive club

Its first mission to Mars clears a major hurdle, putting India on track to outpace rival China in space exploration.
China's 'Jade Rabbit'

A Search on my blog calls up the following articles about Iceland, articles which give you the sense of their ‘process’. . . :) ~J

Excitement is mounting as the consciousness increases. People are experiencing the changes, both in mind and body. You have a lot to be excited about because your awakening has brought about a change in the Dark Controllers due to the light that is now flowing through the minds and souls of humanity. Become aware of the light that eminates from the sun. Welcome it and take every opportunity to link with it. The Dark Ones try to block it from you with the use of chemtrails but it still manages to get through, so it is important to connect with it. Sunlight is important. Ask the question, why is so much effort being put into blocking it from you? Who has the right to block the sunlight that is your God-given right to have and enjoy? These questions must be asked, and explanations demanded. You can no longer just sit back passively and allow your lives to be contaminated in this way. It is time to stop being victims. You have a voice, so when you come together with one voice then the answers must be given. If you want change, then you must ask for it.

There is more than enough information out there in the public domain for you to do the research regarding chemtrails. The flouridation contamination, GMO crops, etc., it all needs to be brought out into the open and debated. The facts are there, they are not hidden, and you are not powerless. We can guide you, but the action that is needed must come from you. Do not allow yourselves to be side-tracked by foolish gossip about things that do not matter. This is how they fill your minds with trivialities so that you forget what is important.

Fine words are being spoken by so-called leaders but their EYES do not convey the messages that come from their mouths. The eyes cannot lie as they are the mirrors of the soul. You can no longer just accept things at face value.

These are important times as the next few months could bring about the complete transformation of your world. You need to be of one mind, all wanting the same thing – love, light and peace for all humanity. This is a window of opportunity to make this happen quickly and peacefully. Trust each other and forget all man-made differences. Deep down, you are all brothers and sisters who want to live in peace and harmony. When fine actions do not accompany fine words, then see them for what they are. Your eyes are open now, so these tactics no longer work. They are usually telling you to look elsewhere. They say . . . Do not look at me or my actions, for I want to hide from you! However, you can see through all this now. Soon, they will get the message that ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. For words alone are no longer acceptable: it is time to expect and demand action, peacefully and always with dignity.

With those whom my dear wife calls “our friends from abroad”, (your extra-terrestrial family), we have prevented many attempts to start World War 3. We have successfully rendered useless, many missiles and other implements of war. The war machine is in difficulties and money will not solve the problems we have created for them. They are now learning what it feels like to be helpless. They desperately search for different avenues to go down, in order to hold on to the control that is slipping through their fingers.

Mankind has been used to playing the victim, who always accepts what the great and the good tell him is the case. But now, people can see what is true and what is false. The propaganda no longer works. So people can never again be asked to enter a country to kill its people just on the whim of politicians and bankers. They now see that killing is KILLING and it can never be justified.

The real reasons for the declaration of war on another country go much deeper than you were ever aware of. Look at the ancient history of those countries and you will see what has been kept hidden. It is the ENERGY they hold that worries your controllers. All is energy. Until now, the Cabal has kept the planet’s energies contained and controlled. Observe the tracks of the chemtrails, for they carefully follow the energy lines in an effort to destroy this precious energy, which should be freely available for the benefit of all humanity.

There are sacred places all over your world that have been desecrated and covered over. All this wonderful energy needs to be released. Those of you who know how to do this, have a duty to take steps to release it, as everything on Earth will benefit. Set about this task with love in your hearts for all living things. Walk barefoot on the grass. You need to become truly grounded human beings. This will bring you a deep sense of belonging that you have not yet experienced because this information has been denied you. By releasing it, you create the peace that your souls cry out for. Connect with the Earth and with each other, as you are all in this together. The chains that bind you are slipping and becoming weak. This must happen for you to be released from bondage.

Much will be done in order to create fear. Do not buy into it. It would be better if you avoided all so-called NEWS, whether in newspapers or on television. It cannot be trusted. It is all from the same propaganda machine, operated and controlled by those who wish to keep you servile and under control. I have pointed out, many times, that your thoughts create your reality. Be clear in your minds about what is best for you. Do not dwell on the negative. Instead, raise your vibration, and keep it raised. We are depending on you to do this quickly and successfully.

Veronica and I wish to thank those who reached out with love and good wishes in order to assist with the purchase of another car. Your gifts and kind wishes were gratefully recieved and appreciated. The surplus will be used to assist with the hiring of machinery needed for the project that must be carried out to create a better world for all who dwell in it.

Our work goes on. We will achieve our aims.

My dear, when your work is complete, you will be with me once more. Together, we will help create a better experience of life on Earth for all humanity.

Always, your adoring, Monty.

Lifting the Veil – Part 4