Chandrayaan-3 Undergoes Last Moon-Bound Maneuver, Prepares For Propulsion And Lander Module Separation

The spacecraft of India’s ambitious third Moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, successfully completed its fifth and final Moon-bound orbit maneuver on Wednesday, bringing it even closer to the lunar surface.

ISRO tweeted, “Chandrayaan-3 Mission: Today’s successful firing, needed for a short duration, has put Chandrayaan-3 into an orbit of 153 km x 163 km, as intended”, through its official ‘X’ handle.

“With this, the lunar bound maneuvres are completed. It’s time for preparations as the Propulsion Module and the Lander Module gear up for their separate journeys”, the national space agency continued in its tweet.

“Separation of the Lander Module from the Propulsion Module is planned for August 17, 2023”, the national space agency added in its tweet.

Following its July 14 launch, Chandrayaan-3 entered into the lunar orbit on August 5, after which three successive orbit reduction maneuvers were performed on August 6, 9, and 14 to move closer to the Moon.

ISRO is performing a series of maneuvers to gradually reduce Chandrayaan-3’s orbit and position it over the lunar poles as the mission progresses.

On August 23, the spacecraft is scheduled to make a soft landing on the Moon’s south-polar area.

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