Sriharikota: The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, which has covered about two-thirds of the distance to the moon since its launch on July 14 and entered lunar’s orbit, revealed ISRO. The next lunar orbit maneuver is scheduled for tomorrow, around 23:00 hrs IST.
The craft is set to complete 5-6 orbits around the moon and gradually transitions to a circular 100 kilometre orbit. Over the following 10 days, a precise landing site within the moon’s south pole area will be determined.
“MOX, ISTRAC, this is Chandrayaan-3. I am feeling lunar gravity. Chandrayaan-3 has been successfully inserted into the lunar orbit. A retro-burning at the Perilune was commanded from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX), ISTRAC, Bengaluru. The next operation-reduction of orbit- is scheduled for Aug 6, 2023 around 23:00 Hrs. IST”, tweeted ISRO.
ISRO remains attentive to the lunar landing schedule. If required, the landing shall be rescheduled for September. With each accomplished milestone, India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission continues its journey towards an unprecedented lunar landing achievement.
The ISRO had in the past 22 days carried out five orbit-raising maneuvers before slingshotting the spacecraft into the translunar orbit on August 1.