India’s ambitious third Moon mission, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, on Wednesday successfully executed its fifth and final orbit manoeuvre aimed at reaching the lunar surface.

This achievement has brought the spacecraft even closer to its destination. Having completed its lunar-bound manoeuvres, the spacecraft is now set to enter the next phase, which involves the separation of the propulsion module and the lander module, as stated by ISRO.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:Today’s successful firing, needed for a short duration, has put Chandrayaan-3 into an orbit of 153 km x 163 km, as intended.
With this, the lunar bound maneuvres are completed.
It’s time for preparations as the Propulsion Module and the Lander Module… pic.twitter.com/0Iwi8GrgVR
— ISRO (@isro) August 16, 2023

”Today’s successful firing, needed for a short duration, has put Chandrayaan-3 into an orbit of 153 km x 163 km, as intended. With this, the lunar bound manoeuvre are completed.It’s time for preparations as the Propulsion Module and the Lander Module gear up for their separate journeys,” the national space agency tweeted. Separation of the lander module from the propulsion module of the spacecraft is planned for August 17, it said.

Post its launch on July 14, Chandrayaan-3 entered into the lunar orbit on August 5, following which three successive orbit reduction manoeuvre were carried out on August 6, 9 and 14 to move closer to the Moon.

As the mission unfolds, ISRO is carrying out a sequence of maneuvers to progressively lower Chandrayaan-3’s orbit and align it with the lunar poles.

The spacecraft is set to achieve a gentle landing in the Moon’s southern polar region on August 23.

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first published:August 16, 2023, 10:52 IST

last updated:August 16, 2023, 13:13 IST

Chandrayaan-3 Completes Final Lunar Orbit Maneuver, Gears Up for Propulsion and Lander Module Separation

This achievement has brought the spacecraft even closer to its destination. Having completed its lunar-bound manoeuvres, the spacecraft is now set to enter the next phase, which involves the separation of the propulsion module and the lander module, as stated by ISRO.