Spacecraft inches closer to history

The Mars Orbiter spacecraft prepares for a prelaunch test at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR in Srihairkota.

The Mars Orbiter spacecraft is pictured attached to the PSLV-C25 launch vehicle, with the heat shield open.

The PSLV-C25 launch vehicle is pictured with the heat shield closed.

Scientists and engineers work on the Mars Orbiter vehicle at the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) satellite centre in Bangalore on September 11, 2013.

An Indian security forces member watches the PSLV-C25 launch vehicle carrying the Mars Orbiter probe as its payload on October 30, 2013.

Indian bystanders watch a bank of screens showing the live telecast of the launch of India's Mars Orbiter Mission inside a showroom in New Delhi on November 5, 2013.

The PSLV-C25 launch vehicle, carrying the Mars Orbiter probe as its payload, lifts off on November 5, 2013.

• India's Mars Orbiter Mission is expected to enter Mars' orbit Wednesday


• India's spacecraft cost $74 million, a fraction of the $671 million spent by NASA's MAVEN


• Live telecast will be available on ISRO's website


• Entering Mars' orbit is complicated, as nearly half of all attempts have failed

(CNN) -- Just days after NASA's Mars orbiter reached the Red Planet, India's first mission could follow suit and make history Wednesday.

India's Mars Orbiter Mission has been groundbreaking for the country, with a price tag of $74 million, a fraction of the $671 million NASA spent on its MAVEN spacecraft.

If Mars Orbiter Mission, also known as Mangalyaan, successfully enters Mars' orbit, India would become the first Asian nation to do so.

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To date, only the U.S., Europe and the Soviets have successfully sent spacecraft to Mars. But India is also aiming for another record.

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It's aiming to be the first country in the world to succeed in its first attempt to enter the Mars orbit, said S. Satish, a space expert based in Bangalore, India.

"It's a great technical achievement for the country," he said.

Once it nears Mars' orbit, the spacecraft will have to execute a series of complicated and critical maneuvers. About half of all spacecraft sent to missions on the planet have veered off course, malfunctioned or crashed.

#MarsOrbiterMission - The plan of action for Mars Orbit Insertion on September 24. http://ift.tt/1wSDmLW

— ISRO (@isro) September 18, 2014

"The trajectory it has to follow is very complicated," Satish said.

The Mars Orbiter Mission will fire a small rocket in the reverse direction, to reduce speed for exactly 24 minutes and 11 seconds capture into Mars' orbit.

A live telecast will be available starting 6:45 a.m. Indian Standard Time (9:15 p.m. EST) on the Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) website. The entry into Mars' orbit is expected at 7:21 a.m. in India (9:51 p.m. EST)

The spacecraft launched on November 5, and has traveled over 215 million kilometers to get near Mars. Its mission is to orbit the Red Planet, mapping its surface and studying the atmosphere.

The mission has been freighted with patriotic significance for India since its inception, and is seen as a symbolic coup over its neighbor, China, which is also ramping up its space ambitions.

READ: Is India's Mars mission the latest escalation in Asia's space race?

Once it enters the orbit, India's Mars Orbiter Mission will be in the company of NASA's two Mars rovers on the ground, a European orbiter, and the MAVEN, which has been there since Sunday.

The U.S. has expressed interest in cooperating with India as their spacecraft gather data about the planet.

READ: MAVEN spacecraft enters Mars orbit to explore its climate change

ISRO spent significantly less than NASA on its Mars mission. Some space observers noted that India's Mars orbiter cost less than the $100 million budget for the space thriller "Gravity."

"It shows how optimal is the design, that way we're able to cut cost and we're not compromising quality," Satish said.

CNN's Suzanne Presto and Tim Hume contributed to this report.