ISRO releases images of Moon captured by Chandrayaan-3's Lander

TIRUPATI: In a series of meticulously executed manoeuvres, the Indian Space Research Organisation is moving closer to achieving a historic lunar landing feat with its Chandrayaan-3 rocket on August 23.

Following its separation from the propulsion module, the landing module that houses both the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover completed its initial deboost manoeuvre on Friday.

ISRO reported that the health of the Lander Module (LM) was normal while confirming the successful execution of the deboosting operation, which brought the LM into a reduced orbit of 113km x 157km.

The space agency also announced that a second deboosting operation is planned for Friday, August 20, around 0200hrs IST. The news was announced on its official X (formerly Twitter) account.

The Space agency also released footage recorded by Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander.

Among the videos, one was filmed by the Lander Position Detection Camera (LPDC) on August 15 while it was connected to the PM, showcasing distinct Moon craters. A second video, taken by the Lander Imager (LI) Camera-1, provides a smaller yet discernible view of the Earth.

The journey of Chandrayaan-3 began on July 14 when it was placed in an intended elliptical Earth orbit. Subsequently, ISRO undertook a sequence of orbit-raising manoeuvres. The first orbit-raising manoeuvre occurred on July 15, positioning the spacecraft in an orbit measuring 41,762 km x 173 km. The second Earth-bound maneuver followed on the subsequent day, leading to its placement in an orbit of 41,603km x 226km.

On July 18, the third Earth-bound manoeuvre heightened the Apogee, the farthest point from Earth, propelling the spacecraft into an orbit measuring 51,400km x 228km.

Continuing this approach, a second-to-last Earth-bound maneuver was executed on July 20, resulting in an orbit measuring 71,351km x233 km. The final Earth-bound maneuver on July 25 was successfully executed, making the spacecraft's apogee to surpass 1,20,000km.

A significant leap was made on August 1 when ISRO initiated the trans-lunar injection (TLI), directing Chandrayaan-3 towards the lunar destination.

At the conclusion of TLI, its altitude reached nearly 3,60,000km. The following major manoeuvre, the Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) on August 5, placed the spacecraft into an elliptical lunar orbit, with Perilune (closest point to Moon) at 164km and Apolune (farthest point to Moon) at 18,074km.

The second lunar-bound manoeuvre on August 6 further refined the orbit to 170km x 4,313km.

ISRO continued its strategy by reducing Chandrayaan-3's lunar orbit dimensions to 174km x 1,437km after a successful third lunar-bound manoeuvre on August 9.

On August 14, the spacecraft entered the orbit circularization stage through a fourth lunar-bound manoeuvre, resulting in an orbit of 151km x179 km.

Adding to these accomplishments, on Thursday, the Vikram lander, carrying the Pragyan rover, was detached from the PM, marking a crucial advancement in the mission's trajectory toward its lunar landing, ISRO said.

The milestone on August 23 will witness Vikram's approach to a Perilune of around 30km, marking the nearest point to Moon, from where the final landing will be initiated.