On Tuesday, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft performed its fifth and final orbit-raising maneuver in preparation for lunar insertion. The next phase is to switch to an Earth-to-Moon trajectory, where the gravity of the Moon will eventually draw it into lunar orbit. The ultimate goal is to land softly on the lunar surface.
“The orbit-raising manoeuvre (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,” Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) tweeted.
The next firing, the Trans-Lunar Injection (TLI), is scheduled for August 1 between 12 a.m. and 1 a.m. IST.
On July 14, India’s third moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, lifted out from the Satish Dhawan Space Station in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota. On August 23, it is expected to reach the moon’s South Pole for a gentle landing with a lander and rover.
By doing so, India would join a select group of nations (the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China) that have accomplished the accomplishment.
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