( CNN ) -- India 's Mars Orbiter Mission successfully entered Mars ' orbit Wednesday morning , becoming the first nation to arrive on its first attempt and the first Asian country to reach the Red Planet . `` We have gone beyond the boundaries of human enterprise and human imagination , '' declared India 's Prime Minister Narendra Modi , who watched from the space agency 's nerve center in Bangalore . `` We have accurately navigated our spacecraft through a route known to a very few . '' The staff at the Indian Space Research Organization erupted into applause and cheers after learning that the Mars Orbiter Mission , also known as Mangalyaan , reached the planet 's orbit and made history . Before Wednesday , only the United States , Europe and the Soviets have successfully sent spacecraft to Mars . `` The odds were stacked against us , '' Modi said . `` Of the 51 missions attempted so far , a mere 21 had succeeded . But we have prevailed . '' And India reached Mars with significantly less money . With a price tag of $ 74 million , the Mars Orbiter Mission cost a mere fraction of the $ 671 million NASA spent on its MAVEN spacecraft , which arrived to Mars earlier this week . Some space observers noted that India 's Mars orbiter cost less than the $ 100 million budget for the space thriller film `` Gravity . '' Interactive : Exploring Mars from Viking to MAVEN . `` It shows how optimal is the design , that way we 're able to cut cost and we 're not compromising quality , '' said S. Satish , a space expert based in Bangalore . The groundbreaking Mars mission was n't without controversy -- with some critics who said India should spend the money on other issues . The spacecraft launched on November 5 , and has traveled over 650 million kilometers to enter Mars orbit . Its mission is to orbit the Red Planet , mapping its surface and studying the atmosphere . The Mars Orbiter kicked off its interplanetary debut with its own Twitter account . The mission has been freighted with patriotic significance for India since its inception and is seen as a symbolic coup over its rival , China , which is also ramping up its space ambitions . China 's joint mission with Russia in 2011 , which contained the Chinese Mars satellite Yinhuo-1 , stalled and eventually fell back to Earth . Japan 's 1998 attempt with the spacecraft Nozomi was also unsuccessful due to fuel problems . Once nears Mars ' orbit , India 's spacecraft had to execute a series of complicated and critical maneuvers . About half of all spacecraft sent on missions to the planet have veered off course , malfunctioned or crashed . India 's Mars Orbiter Mission is in the company of NASA 's two Mars rovers on the ground , a European orbiter and NASA orbiters including the MAVEN , which has been there since Sunday . The United States has expressed interest in cooperating with India as their spacecraft gather data about the planet . NASA congratulated India via Twitter . As did Curiosity , the Mars rover .
India 's Mars Orbiter Mission entered Mars ' orbit Wednesday . India 's spacecraft cost $ 74 million , a fraction of the $ 671 million spent by NASA 's MAVEN . India PM Narendra Modi praises country 's efforts . Comment: