Chandrayaan-3 Mission: After a successful manoeuvre on Wednesday, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) achieved a nearly circular orbit which positioned the spacecraft into a lunar orbit of 153×163 kilometres. Now, the Vikram lander will begin its separate journey from the propulsion module.
ISRO said that Vikram and Pragyan sitting inside the ISRO’s lunar spacecraft will break away from the propulsion module. Vikram will have to be put in the elliptical orbit and ISRo will carry out manoeuvres, helping to achieve this.
According to a report by the Times of India, the manoeuvres will eventually put Vikram in an orbit where the Perilune (closest point to the Moon) is 30 km and Apolune (farthest point from Moon) is 100 km. The final landing of Chandrayaan-3 will be attempted from this orbit.
After this, the lander is expected to undergo a “deboost” (the process of slowing down) and make a soft landing on the south polar region of the Moon next week. The final landing of the Chandrayaan-3, comprising Vikram (landeR) and Pragyan (rover) is projected to take place on Moon’s surface on 23 August.
ISRO scientists will have to overcome the phase where the spacecraft’s horizontal orientation needs to change to a vertical one before it makes the final descent on 23 August.
Earlier, ISRO Chairman S Somnath had said the most critical part of the landing is the process of bringing the velocity of the lander from 30 km height to the final landing, and that the ability to transfer the spacecraft from horizontal to vertical direction is the “trick we have to play” here.
Chandrayaan-3 is India’s third lunar mission and second attempt at achieving a soft landing on the Moon’s surface. It is a follow-on to the unsuccessful 2019 lunar mission – Chandrayaan-2.
It will demonstrate India’s end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. With this mission, India aims to become the fourth country in the world to achieve this feat, joining the ranks of the United States, Russia, and China.
Chandrayaan-3’s development phase commenced in January 2020 with the launch planned sometime in 2021. However, the Covid-19 pandemic brought an unforeseen delay to the mission’s progress.
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Updated: 17 Aug 2023, 08:59 AM IST