‘India has capability to send spacecraft to Mars’

India has the capability to send a spacecraft to Mars at an approximate cost of Rs 500 crore, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

In a written reply, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s office Prithviraj Chavan said sending a spacecraft to Mars would help in understanding the evolution of the planet by studying Martian atmosphere and ionosphere.

It would also help in studying dust storms, interaction of solar radiation and particles with Mars, magnetic field and plasma environment around Mars, surface topography, composition and distribution of water-ice, he said.

The approximate cost of sending