Chandrayaan-3 Completes Final Earth-Orbital Maneuver for Moon Entry
New Delhi: After completing the fourth orbit-raising manoeuvre on July 20, the Chandrayaan-3 successfully executed the fifth and final manoeuvre between 2:00 and 3:00 pm on July 25, 2023. This is a pivotal point in the spacecraft’s journey to the moon. The Indian Space Research Organisation has confirmed that India’s third lunar mission is currently […]
New Delhi: After completing the fourth orbit-raising manoeuvre on July 20, the Chandrayaan-3 successfully executed the fifth and final manoeuvre between 2:00 and 3:00 pm on July 25, 2023. This is a pivotal point in the spacecraft’s journey to the moon. The Indian Space Research Organisation has confirmed that India’s third lunar mission is currently on target for its trip to the south pole of the Moon.
The movement was controlled by personnel in Bengaluru using the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network. The operation was directed and managed by P Veeramuthuvel and his crew back at base.
A 127609-kilometre-by-236-kilometre orbit is the target for the mission. Yesterday, ISRO announced on Twitter that the next launch, a TransLunar Injection, is set to take place on August 1 between midnight and 1 am. An ISRO source told PTI that the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft will leave Earth orbit and go in the direction of the Moon after receiving the TransLunar Injection. As a result of the TLI manoeuvre, the spacecraft would be placed on a lunar transfer trajectory and would begin its voyage to the Moon on August 1.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
The orbit-raising maneuver (Earth-bound perigee firing) is performed successfully from ISTRAC/ISRO, Bengaluru.
The spacecraft is expected to attain an orbit of 127609 km x 236 km. The achieved orbit will be confirmed after the observations.
The next… pic.twitter.com/LYb4XBMaU3
— ISRO (@isro) July 25, 2023
For its fifth and final manoeuvre, the spacecraft carefully increased its speed with a series of engine burns, putting it in prime position for a lunar insertion. Once in place, the spacecraft entered a transfer orbit from Earth to the Moon and began its voyage to the moon.
Somanath, chairman of ISRO, stressed the significance of capturing the Moon’s orbit during the descent, saying that this would determine the mission’s success or failure. “If it does not capture the orbit, the Moon mission is not there. I hope our calculation will be alright,” S. Somanath said. Capturing the Moon’s orbit would pave the way for a controlled landing on the Moon’s surface.
On July 14, India’s space agency successfully launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission, which is scheduled to soft-land on the Moon on August 23.