This morning India became the first country, aside from Europe’s collective ESA, to successfully reach Mars on their first attempt. The Mangalyaan (or “Mars craft”) Mars Orbiter quietly began orbiting the Red Planet after traveling more than 400 million miles since its November 5 launch. To date, only the United States, European Union and Russia have succeeded in making the journey to Mars and most countries, including the US, Russia, Japan and China have failed on their first attempt.

“The odds were stacked against us. Of 51 missions attempted in the world, only 21 have succeeded. We have prevailed,” said Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, according to Physics World.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden was quick to praised India’s effort.

“We congratulate the Indian Space Research Organisation for its successful arrival at Mars with the Mars Orbiter Mission. It was an impressive engineering feat, and we welcome India to the family of nations studying another facet of the Red Planet. We look forward to MOM adding to the knowledge the international community is gathering with the other spacecraft at Mars. All space exploration expands the frontiers of scientific knowledge and improves life for everyone on Earth. We commend this significant milestone for India,” said Bolden in a statement.

In addition to joining the small group of nations studying Mars, India demonstrated that it can be done on a relatively small budget. India’s mission cost just 4.5 billion rupees, the equivelent of about $74 million US. That amount is just 11 percent of what NASA spent on its $672 million MAVEN orbiter.

Of course, Mangalyaan is a far less advanced craft. The Indian spacecraft carries just 33lbs of scientific instruments compared to MAVENs 143 pounds and Mangalyaan is only expected to last for six months. It is a clear demonstration however that the technology and budget of a superpower is not necessary for space exploration.