India's Mars satellite 'Mangalyaan' sends first images

The first image of Mars taken by the Indian orbiter. Photo taken from BBC

India's space agency has released its first picture of Mars, taken by its satellite which entered orbit around the Red Planet on Wednesday.
"The view is nice up here," tweeted @isro. A handful of images have been sent by the Mangalyaan probe so far.
Part of its mission is to study the Martian atmosphere for signs of life.
It is the first time a maiden voyage to Mars has entered orbit successfully and it is the cheapest. Nasa's latest Maven mission cost almost 10 times as much.

A shot of Martian atmosphere. I'm getting better at it. No pressure. pic.twitter.com/A27s34q5AD

— ISRO's Mars Orbiter (@MarsOrbiter) September 25, 2014

Media in India have hailed the venture as a "historic achievement".
The Hindu newspaper reported that the probe had "beamed back about 10 pictures of the Red Planet's surface which show some craters".
Officials were quoted by the newspaper as saying the pictures were of "good quality".
Reports said the camera was the first of the instruments being carried by the satellite to be switched on, a few hours after it entered into orbit.
India's 1,350kg (2,970lb) robotic spacecraft, which undertook a 10-month-long 200-million-km journey, is equipped with five instruments.
They include a thermal imaging spectrometer to map the surface and mineral wealth of the planet, and a sensor to track methane - a possible sign of life - and other components of the atmosphere.
India has become the fourth nation or geo-bloc to put a satellite into orbit around Mars, and the first from Asia.
Only the US, Russia and Europe have previously sent missions to Mars.

Yes, I agree @MarsOrbiter, the view is indeed nice up there! @isro pic.twitter.com/hX3TNd9ggk

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 25, 2014