India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission is on course to reach the moon after performing a crucial orbit-raising manoeuvre on Tuesday night. The spacecraft fired its engine near its perigee, or the closest point to Earth, and increased its orbit to 288 km x 369,328 km.
This will enable it to enter the lunar orbit on August 5, when it will be captured by the moon’s gravity. The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said the spacecraft is in good health and ready for the next critical step of Lunar Orbit Injection (LOI).
Chandrayaan-3 leaves Earth’s orbit behind The orbit-raising manoeuvre took place between 12-12:30 am on Tuesday, when the spacecraft was at its perigee. This boosted its speed and trajectory towards the moon.
It now orbits Earth at a distance of 288 kilometres at its perigee and 369,328 kilometres at its apogee.Next destination: the moon! The LOI manoeuvre is the next major milestone for Chandrayaan-3, which will insert the spacecraft into a lunar orbit.
The mission aims to achieve a historic soft landing near the moon’s south pole, making India the fourth country to do so and the first to explore this region of the moon.
As Chandrayaan-3 gets closer to the moon, the propulsion module will gradually lower its altitude. In the first week of August, the spacecraft is expected to complete 5-6 orbits around the moon, eventually reaching a circular 100-kilometre orbit.
Over the next 10 days, a suitable landing site will be selected within the south polar region. Then, the lander will separate from the propulsion module and attempt a soft landing.
Isro is cautious about the landing date, taking into account the lunar sunrise, and may postpone the landing to September if needed. With each successful manoeuvre, India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission is inching closer to its ambitious lunar landing goal.