The first orbit-raising manoeuvre of Chandrayaan-3, India’s third unmanned mission to the Moon, was successfully performed on Saturday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said, adding that the health of the spacecraft, which was launched on Friday, was normal.
“The spacecraft's health is normal. The first orbit-raising manoeuvre (Earthbound firing-1) was successfully performed at ISTRAC/ISRO, Bengaluru. Spacecraft is now in 41,762 km x 173 km orbit,” the space agency said in a terse update late Saturday evening.
The update came a day after ISRO’s most trusted rocket LVM3-M4, dubbed as the “Fat Boy” for its heavy lift capacities, launched Chandrayaan-3 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, 110 km from here.
The orbit-raising manoeuvre is part of several phases of the spacecraft before it makes a “safe and soft landing” on the south polar region of the Moon. If all goes well, Chandrayaan-3 will land on the lunar surface at 5.47 pm on August 23.
Through its journey, Rs 600 crore-Chandrayaan-3 will be monitored and controlled by scientists at ISTRAC/ISRO in Bengaluru.
While the Earth-bound manoeuvres will be completed by July 31, Chandrayaan-3 will begin its journey towards the Moon (trans-lunar insertion phase) on August 1, while the separation of propulsion and lander module will take place on August 17.
Finally, on August 23, the lander is expected to make a soft landing at 5.47 pm after travelling over 3.8 lakh km.
The Chandrayaan-3 lander carrying a rover within it will be carried into an orbit around the Moon by the propulsion module. A little later, the lander will separate from that module and will attempt to make a soft landing in the south polar region of the Moon, which is of intense interest as it has many permanently shadowed craters which could contain water ice and precious minerals.
Scientists said the precise goal is to make a soft and safe landing on the south polar region of the Moon, which is still unexplored. The region is of intense interest due to the presence of many permanently shadowed craters which could contain water ice and precious minerals, and the spacecraft is expected to make several discoveries.
Billed as a follow-up mission to Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3 will seek to demonstrate end-to-end landing and roving capabilities.