Chandrayaan-3 heads for moon

TIRUPATI: The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) slung Chandrayaan-3, India’s latest lunar mission, on the way to the moon after it gained sufficient momentum during its orbits around Earth.  Chandrayaan will enter the moon’s orbit on August 5.

Once it reaches the lunar orbit, the lander will separate from the propulsion module and is expected to make a soft landing near the south pole of the moon at 5.47 pm on August 23. If it succeeds, India will be the first nation to land near the lunar south pole.

In a tweet, ISRO stated, "Chandrayaan-3 completes its orbits around the Earth and heads towards the moon. The successful perigee-firing at ISTRAC, ISRO, has injected the spacecraft into the translunar orbit. Next stop: the Moon. Lunar-Orbit Insertion (LOI) is planned for August 5, 2023." Istrac refers to Isro’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network based in Bengaluru.

According to Isro, the spacecraft began its journey towards the moon on Tuesday, departing the earth's orbit after the translunar injection manoeuvre.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14 and consists of a propulsion module weighing 2,148 kg, a 1,723.89 kg lander and a rover weighing 26 kg. The objective of the mission is to safely land the lander on lunar soil. Once that is done, the lander and rover

The landing process involves a series of complex manoeuvres, including rough and fine braking, making it a challenging task. Prior to landing, imaging of the landing site region will be conducted to identify safe and hazard-free zones. After the soft landing, the rover will be deployed to carry out experiments on the lunar surface for one lunar day, which is equal to 14 earth days.