Chandrayaan 2 inches closer to moon, to enter lunar orbit today

According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), by firing Chandrayaan-2 on-board motors, the space craft will be moved into the lunar orbit.

India’s second spacecraft to the moon, Chandrayaan-2, will be inserted into the lunar orbit on Tuesday morning, the Indian space agency said.

This July 22, 2019, photo released by the ISRO shows its Geosynchronous Satellite launch Vehicle (GSLV) MkIII carrying Chandrayaan-2 lift off from Sriharikota, India. (AP)

According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), by firing Chandrayaan-2 on-board motors, the space craft will be moved into the lunar orbit.

After Chandrayaan-2’s insertion into the lunar orbit, ISRO will carry out four more orbit maneuvers (August 21, 28, 30 and September 1) to enter it into its final orbit passing over lunar poles at a distance of about 100 km from the Moon’s surface.

Subsequently, the Vikram lander will separate from the orbiter on September 2, 2019.

Two orbit maneuvers will be performed on the lander before the initiation of powered descent to make a soft landing on the lunar surface on September 7, 2019, ISRO said.

On July 22, the Chandrayaan-2 was injected into an elliptical orbit of 170x45,475 km by India’s heavy lift rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV Mk III) in a text book style.

The spacecraft comprises three segments -- the Orbiter (weighing 2,379 kg, eight payloads), the lander ‘Vikram’ (1,471 kg, four payloads) and rover ‘Pragyan’ (27 kg, two payloads).

(The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text, only the headline has been changed)