Lotus Feets: India's probe sends back stunning picture of storms on the red planet as Nasa signs deal for joint missions to Mars

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By Mark Prigg for MailOnline20:23 01 Oct 2014, updated 23:36 01 Oct 2014

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Two agencies also hope their current missions on the red planet can collaborate Will also launch earth observing satellite to track effects of climate change

As India's Mars probe sent back its first full image from the red planet, Nasa has revealed it is to collaborate on future missions.

Nasa Administrator Charles Bolden and K. Radhakrishnan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will launch a satellite mission to observe Earth and establish a pathway for future joint missions to explore Mars.

The two agencies also hope their current missions on the red planet can collaborate.

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'Something's brewing here!': The first full image of Mars from ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), India's first spacecraft launched to Mars. It will now collaborate with Nasa on future missions.

MARS MISSIONS

Both agencies have newly arrived spacecraft in Mars orbit.

NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft arrived at Mars Sept. 21.

MAVEN is the first spacecraft dedicated to exploring the tenuous upper atmosphere of Mars.

ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), India's first spacecraft launched to Mars, arrived Sept. 23 to study the Martian surface and atmosphere and demonstrate technologies needed for interplanetary missions.

One of the working group's objectives will be to explore potential coordinated observations and science analysis between MAVEN and MOM, as well as other current and future Mars missions.

While attending the International Astronautical Congress, the two space agency leaders met to discuss and sign a charter that establishes a NASA-ISRO Mars Working Group to investigate enhanced cooperation between the two countries in Mars exploration.

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They also signed an international agreement that defines how the two agencies will work together on the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission, targeted to launch in 2020.

'The signing of these two documents reflects the strong commitment NASA and ISRO have to advancing science and improving life on Earth,' said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. 'This partnership will yield tangible benefits to both our countries and the world.'

The joint Mars Working Group will seek to identify and implement scientific, programmatic and technological goals that NASA and ISRO have in common regarding Mars exploration.

The craft also captured the same view in 3D - with operators tweeted 'What sorcery is this? Get your 3D glasses to look at Mars the way I do!'

The group will meet once a year to plan cooperative activities, including potential NASA-ISRO cooperation on future missions to Mars.

Both agencies have newly arrived spacecraft in Mars orbit.

NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft arrived at Mars Sept. 21. MAVEN is the first spacecraft dedicated to exploring the tenuous upper atmosphere of Mars.

JOINT MISSION: OBSERVING THE EARTH

The joint NISAR Earth-observing mission will make global measurements of the causes and consequences of land surface changes.

Potential areas of research include ecosystem disturbances, ice sheet collapse and natural hazards.

The NISAR mission is optimized to measure subtle changes of the Earth's surface associated with motions of the crust and ice surfaces.

NISAR will improve our understanding of key impacts of climate change and advance our knowledge of natural hazards.

The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission, targeted to launch in 2020, will make global measurements of the causes and consequences of a variety of land surface changes on Earth.

NISAR will be the first satellite mission to use two different radar frequencies (L-band and S-band) to measure changes in our planet's surface less than a centimeter across.

This allows the mission to observe a wide range of changes, from the flow rates of glaciers and ice sheets to the dynamics of earthquakes and volcanoes.

Under the terms of the new agreement, NASA will provide the mission's L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid state recorder, and a payload data subsystem.

ISRO will provide the spacecraft bus, an S-band SAR, and the launch vehicle and associated launch services.

One of the working group's objectives will be to explore potential coordinated observations and science analysis between MAVEN and MOM, as well as other current and future Mars missions.

The Mars Orbiter Mission cost £45 million ($74 million), or about three-quarters the amount to make the Oscar-winning movie Gravity about astronauts stranded in space. It arrived in orbit around the red planet after a tense 300-day marathon travelling more than 420 million miles (670 million km)

'NASA and Indian scientists have a long history of collaboration in space science,' said John Grunsfeld, NASA associate administrator for science.

'These new agreements between NASA and ISRO in Earth science and Mars exploration will significantly strengthen our ties and the science that we will be able to produce as a result.'

Indian Prime Minister says 'history has today been created'

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