Shillong, August 18: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has achieved a significant milestone by maneuvering the country’s moon lander into a closer orbit around the Moon, marking progress in its Chandrayaan-3 mission.
As per IANS, ISRO is conducting the Chandrayaan-3 mission, which consists of a propulsion module (weighing 2,148 kg), a lander (1,723.89 kg), and a rover (26 kg).
ISRO announced, “The Lander Module (LM) health is normal. LM successfully underwent a deboosting operation that reduced its orbit to 113 km x 157 km. The second deboosting operation is scheduled for August 20, 2023, around 0200 Hrs. IST.”
Earlier, on Thursday, the lander was separated from the propulsion module at an orbit of 153 km x 163 km around the Moon.
The core objective of India’s third Moon mission, costing around Rs 600 crore, is to achieve a soft landing of the lander on the lunar surface. The previous Chandrayaan-2 mission faced challenges when the lander named ‘Vikram’ crash-landed on the Moon.
According to ISRO’s plans, the lander is anticipated to achieve a soft landing near the Moon’s South Pole on August 23 at 5.47 p.m. The descent will commence from an altitude of about 100 km above the Moon’s surface, involving intricate rough and fine braking maneuvers. Prior to landing, the landing site will be imaged to ensure safety.
Following the successful landing, the six-wheeled rover will be deployed and will conduct experiments on the lunar surface for one lunar day, equivalent to 14 Earth days.
Chandrayaan-3 was launched into orbit on July 14 using India’s heavy lift rocket LVM3. After completing its orbits around Earth, the spacecraft set its course towards the Moon on August 1.
