India can send spacecraft to Mars, says minister

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 the 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.