Orbit reduction manoeuvre of Chandrayaan-3 performed
Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft moved closer to the Moon’s surface on Wednesday after it underwent another orbit reduction manoeuvre, ISRO said. India’s ambitious third Moon mission’s spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 after the launch on July 14, had entered into lunar orbit or the Moon’s orbit on August 5.
“Even closer to the moon’s surface. Chandrayaan-3’s orbit is reduced to 174 km x 1437 km following a manoeuvre performed today,” ISRO said in a tweet.
The next operation is scheduled for August 14, between 11.30am and 12.30pm, ISRO said.
As the mission progresses, a series of manoeuvres is being conducted by ISRO to gradually reduce Chandrayaan-3’s orbit and position it over the lunar poles.
According to ISRO sources, there will be two more orbit reduction manoeuvres to bring the spacecraft closer to the Moon.
These manoeuvres will be performed on August 14 and 16 to reach 100 km orbit, following which the landing module, comprising the lander and rover will break away from the propulsion module.