Chandrayaan-3 successfully completes final earth orbit-raising manoeuvre: ISRO
Chandrayaan-3 completes the final earth-bound orbit-raising manoeuvre and prepares for lunar insertion.
Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft completed its fifth and final orbit-raising manoeuvre on Tuesday, preparing for lunar insertion. The next step is to shift to an Earth-to-Moon trajectory, where the Moon's gravity will eventually pull it into lunar orbit. The ultimate goal is a soft landing 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 Organisation (ISRO) tweeted.
ISRO added that the next firing, the TransLunar Injection (TLI), is planned for August 1, between 12 midnight and 1 am IST.
Chandrayaan-3, India's third moon mission, took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Station in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota on July 14. It is expected to reach the moon’s South Pole for a soft landing with a lander and rover on August 23.
By doing so, India would join the group of elite nations (the United States, erstwhile Soviet Union and China) that had achieved the feat.
Chandrayaan-3's next steps in the lunar mission
Chandrayaan-3 has completed five orbit-raising moves around earth and is now expected to achieve an orbit of 127,609 km x 236 km, with the farthest and closest points in its elliptical orbit.
On August 1, the spacecraft will fire its thrusters to leave earth's gravity and head towards the moon. It will then enter the moon's gravity and move into lunar orbit.
By the first week of August, Chandrayaan-3 will have completed 5-6 circles around the moon, entering the innermost circle. In the following 10 days, it will identify the exact landing spot in the moon's south pole area, Union Space Minister Jitendra Singh said on Monday.
Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled to attempt a soft landing on the lunar surface on August 23 at 5:47 pm IST, but the timing may change based on the moon's sunrise. If there's a delay, ISRO will reschedule the landing for September.
What are the objectives of Chandrayaan-3?
Chandrayaan-3 aims to achieve the same three objectives as its predecessor Chandrayaan-2:
1) Demonstrate a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface.
2) Showcase the Rover's mobility on the Moon.
3) Perform in-situ scientific experiments.