An Indian spacecraft bound for the Red Planet has left Earth’s atmosphere, set for a 300-day mission to Mars. The probe will cost $72 million, and the spacecraft should reach its destination on September 24, 2014. The spacecraft is called the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also known as Mangalyaan, and will cruise some 680 million kilometers. The probe has completed six orbits around Earth before Sunday’s... 

New space debris could threaten the International Space Station and other space missions after Russian rocket ‘Briz-M’ recently exploded into some 500 fragments, most of which are now floating in low Earth orbit. ­The rocket was previously floating inert in space after it failed on a mission to deliver two satellites to its intended orbits in a botched August launch. The rocket engine stalled... 

Iran successfully launches new 'Navid-e Elm-o Sanat' satellite into orbit on February 3, 2012. The Islamic Republic of Iran has successfully launched its domestically-built Navid-e Elm-o Sanat satellite into orbit following a decree by Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The satellite, completely designed and built by Iranian experts, blasted into orbit late Thursday on the third day...