India’s ambitious lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, achieved a successful insertion into the Moon’s orbit on Saturday, as confirmed by ISRO.
The crucial maneuver was executed from an ISRO facility, according to the national space agency’s tweet.
“Chandrayaan-3 has been effectively placed into the lunar orbit. A retro-burning at the Perilune was commanded from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX), ISTRAC (ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network), Bengaluru,” ISRO stated in a tweet. The Perilune represents the spacecraft’s closest point to the Moon.
ISRO shared that the next phase, involving orbit reduction, is scheduled for 11 pm on Sunday.
Additionally, the space agency relayed a message from the satellite to its centers, which read, “MOX, ISTRAC, this is Chandrayaan-3. I am feeling lunar gravity.”
According to ISRO sources, there are four more Moon-bound maneuvers planned to gradually bring the satellite closer to the Moon, ultimately positioning it in a circular orbit at a distance of 100 km from the lunar surface.
Following Sunday’s maneuver, three more maneuvers are set to take place until August 17. After this, the landing module, consisting of the lander and rover, will disengage from the propulsion module. Subsequent de-orbiting maneuvers will be conducted on the lander before the final descent onto the Moon’s surface. ISRO aims to attempt a soft landing on the Moon’s surface on August 23.
In the three weeks since its launch on July 14, Chandrayaan-3 has been gradually raised into orbits increasingly distant from Earth.
On August 1, a pivotal maneuver—referred to as a “slingshot move”—successfully propelled the spacecraft from Earth’s orbit towards the Moon.
Chandrayaan-3, serving as a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2, aims to demonstrate capabilities in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. Comprising a lander and rover configuration, it incorporates an indigenous propulsion module and Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) payload.
The mission’s objectives encompass safe and soft lunar surface landing, rover mobility and exploration, and conducting in-situ scientific experiments. The rover will conduct chemical analysis of the Moon’s surface during its exploration, while the lander and rover both carry scientific payloads for lunar surface experiments.
