India's Mars orbiter hits first hurdle, fails to raise velocity to expected level

India's Mars orbiter, Mangalyaan, hit first hurdle on Sunday night but failed to raise the velocity to the expected level of 10,000 km, local media reported. The orbiter is safe and healthy and attempt to push it higher will be held early on Nov. 12 morning, the Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO) said. The orbiter, India's first mission to Mars, was launched on Nov. 5 and is loaded with a camera, an imaging spectrometer and a methane sensor to probe for life on the red planet. Mangalyaan must travel 485 million miles over 300 days to reach an orbit around the red planet next September, according to an ISRO statement.