Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in the early hours of Sunday that Chandrayaan-3’s second and final deboosting operation had been completed successfully.
The module would then go through internal inspections after that. On August 23, the motorised fall is anticipated to begin.
Deboosting is the process of slowing down to place oneself in an orbit where the Perilune, the point closest to the Moon, is 30 km away and the Apolune, the farthest point, is 100 km away. “The LM orbit has been successfully lowered to 25 km x 134 km following the second and final deboosting operation. At the designated landing site, the module would go through internal inspections and wait for sunrise. According to ISRO, the powered descent is anticipated to start on August 23, 2023, at around 1745 IST.
Earlier on Friday, Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander underwent a crucial deboosting manoeuvre and descended to a slightly lower orbit, after successfully getting separated from the propulsion module the day before.
“The Lander Module (LM) health is normal. LM successfully underwent a deboosting operation that reduced its orbit to 113 km x 157 km. The second deboosting operation is scheduled for August 20, 2023, around 0200 Hrs. IST,” ISRO stated.
Meanwhile, the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s lander is named after Vikram Sarabhai (1919–1971), who is widely regarded as the father of the Indian space programme.
India will become the fourth nation in the world to accomplish a soft landing on the moon if ISRO succeeds in its mission, joining the United States, Russia, and China. Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar mission, has as its stated goals a soft and safe landing, lunar surface roving, and in-situ scientific investigations.