India announced two more successes in its space program Thursday -- launching the country's largest rocket and testing the re-entry of an unmanned crew module, part of India's quest to send humans into space.

India triumphed in its first interplanetary mission, placing a satellite into orbit around Mars on Wednesday and catapulting the country into an elite club of deep-space explorers.

With homegrown technology and a remarkably low budget of about $75 million, India was on course to become the first nation to conduct a successful Mars mission on its first try.