Chandryaaan-3 orbit reduced further, lunar bound maneuvres over, PM and LM to get separated tomorrow

Chennai: The Lunar bound maneuvres of India's third moon Mission Chandrayaan-3 was completed on Wednesday by reducing its orbit for the fourth time setting the stage for separation of Lander Module (LM) from the Propulsion Module (PM) and from the spacecraft tomorrow.

The firing was done for a short duration and the Chandrayaan spacecraft is now just 163 km from the moon's surface.

ISRO said it's time for preparations as the Propulsion Module and the Lander Module gear up for their separate journeys".

The Indian Space Agency tweeted "Today’s successful firing, needed for a short duration, has put Chandrayaan-3 into an orbit of 153km x 163km, as intended."

"With this, the lunar bound maneuvres are completed", it said.

"It’s time for preparations as the Propulsion Module and the Lander Module gear up for their separate journeys" ISRO said.

"Separation of the Lander Module from the Propulsion Module is planned for August 17, 2023 (tomorrow)", ISRO added.

After entering the Lunar Orbit on August five, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft underwent four orbit reduction maneuvres till date and moved very closer to the moon's surface.

The earlier three orbit reduction maneuvres were performed on August 6, 9 and 14, gradually moving the 3 spacecraft closest to the moon's surface ahead of soft landing on August 23.

After the separation of the Lander Module, a series of complex braking maneuvers will be executed to facilitate a soft landing in the hitherto unexplored South Polar region of the Moon on August 23.

The Space Agency said the health of Chandrayaan-3 is normal. "Throughout the mission, the health of the spacecraft is being continuously monitored from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network (ISTRAC), the Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antenna at Byalalu, near Bengaluru, with the support from European Space Agency (ESA) and JPL Deep space antenna.

ISRO had on August five said the Chandrayaan-3 mission achieved a crucial milestone with the successful completion of the Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI).

After it entered the Moon's Orbit, ISRO said "MOX, ISTRAC, this is Chandrayaan-3, I am feeling lunar gravity."

"A retro-burning at the Perilune was commanded from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX), ISTRAC, Bengaluru", it said.

This is the third time in succession that ISRO has successfully inserted its spacecraft into the lunar orbit, apart from doing so into the Martian orbit.

The highly anticipated soft landing is planned for August 23, during which the lander attempt a gentle touchdown near the southern polar region of the Moon.

This maneuvre required precise braking techniques to ensure a safe landing.

Prior to the landing attempt, ISRO will conduct thorough imaging of the landing site region to identify safe zones, free of hazards and potential obstacles.

The success of the soft landing would propel India to join a select group of space faring nations to achieve this historic milestone. Only US, the then Soviet Union and China have achieved this feat so far.

India too nearly achieved it in its maiden attempt when it had launched Chandrayaan-2 in July 2019, before the lander crash landed very close to the landing spot, making the mission about 99.99 per cent success. (UNI)