India’s third lunar mission, Chandrayaan 3, has successfully performed a de-orbit maneuver a day after it was enter into lunar orbit, the Indian Space Research Organization said on Sunday. The space agency said it will conduct another such operation on August 9.
ISRO said on Twitter “The spacecraft successfully completed the planned de-orbit maneuver. An additional ignition of the engines brought it closer to the surface of the Moon, now at 170 km x 4,313 km. The next operation to lower the orbit further is scheduled for August 9, 2023, between 1300 and 1400 hours IST”.
Three more maneuvers to the moon will take place until August 17, after which the lander consisting of a lander and a rover will separate from the propulsion module.
De-orbit maneuvers will then be performed on the lander before the final descent to the Moon. According to ISRO, it will attempt a soft landing on the lunar surface on August 23.
In more than five moves within three weeks of its July 14 launch, ISRO has lifted the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft into an orbit further and further away from Earth.
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