Countdown for Chandrayaan 3’s soft-landing on
BENGALURU: The Chandrayaan-3 Mission on Sunday completed its second and final deboosting of Vikram Lander as it moves closer to scripting history on August 23. With Luna-25, the Russian mission to the Moon, crashing on the lunar surface on Saturday, Chandrayaan-3 is the sole contender to claim a soft landing on the Moon.
For Chandrayaan-3, this was a critical deboosting manoeuvre for the mission as it completed all of the Moon’s orbits which occurred around 2 am on Sunday. It is set to touch down on the Moon at 6.04 pm on Wednesday.
“The second de-orbiting manoeuvre for the Lander Module (LM) of Chandrayaan3 spacecraft was performed successfully today. Now the orbit of LM is 25 km x 134 km. The health of the Lander Module (LM) is normal,” the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) stated in its update. With this manoeuvre, the required orbit for the now automated Lander Module will commence its descent towards the Moon’s surface, the space agency added. The Vikram module will undergo internal checks and will wait for sunrise at the designated landing site.
A monumental moment for India: ISRO
“The powered descent is expected to commence on August 23, 2023, around 1745 Hrs. IST,” confirmed ISRO on X, formerly Twitter. Post the deboosting operation, the Lander will undergo a reorientation to 90 degrees, a position deemed optimal for a safe landing.
After Vikram LM descends to an altitude of around 100 metres, it will conduct thorough scans to identify potential complications. If no issues are detected, the lander will make a soft landing on the Moon. ISRO in a message also said that the soft landing of Chandrayaan- 3 “is a monumental moment” for India.
“It generates a profound sense of pride and unity as we collectively celebrate the prowess of Indian science and technology. It will contribute to fostering an environment of scientific inquiry and innovation,” it added, while encouraging all to watch the live telecast on August 23.