Chandrayaan-3: Vikram Lander Module Successfully Completes First Deboosting Operation, Health 'Normal'

A day after the Chandrayaan-3 Lander Module (LM), comprising the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover, successfully separated from the Propulsion Module to set its course for landing on the moon on August 23-24, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday stated that the LM is in ‘normal’ health and has successfully undergone a deboosting operation.

According to the latest update by ISRO, the Lander Module (LM) health is normal. “LM successfully underwent a deboosting operation that reduced its orbit to 113 km x 157 km. The second deboosting operation is scheduled for August 20, 2023, around 0200 Hrs. IST,” the space agency said on microblogging site X, formerly known as Twitter.

Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) mission, Chandrayaan-3 — launched on July 14 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota — successfully entered the lunar orbit on August 5.

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– Another Step Close to Moon: Vikram Lander to be Deboosted Today

Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram Lander underwent a significant deboosting manoeuvre on Friday. The manoeuvre which successfully took place at 4 pm comes a day after the lander successfully separated from the Propulsion Module.

– Moon Captured by Vikram Lander Camera

ISRO on Friday shared images of the moon captured from the Lander Imager (LI) Camera-1

just after the separation of the Lander Module from the Propulsion Module took place on August 17.

The space agency also shared image of the moon taken by the Lander Position Detection Camera (LPDC) on August 15.

– Chandrayaan-3 Lander Separates From Propulsion Module

In a milestone achievement, the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s Lander Module (LM) carrying the rover inside successfully separated from its Propulsion Module, putting the mission on course for its soft-landing on the moon’s surface as planned on August 23.

The LM comprising the Vikram lander and rover Pragyan is ready to be lowered to an orbit that will take the mission closer to moon. The landing on the moon’s south pole is scheduled at 5:47 pm on August 23.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) posted on X, “Thanks for the ride, mate! said the Lander Module (LM). LM is successfully separated from the Propulsion Module (PM). LM is set to descend to a slightly lower orbit upon a deboosting planned for tomorrow around 1600 Hrs IST.”

– India Has 3 Active Spacecrafts in Moon Orbit, More Than China

India has now three spacecrafts orbiting the moon. Chandrayaan-3 mission’s Vikram lander and propulsion module have successfully separated. According to an India Today report, other than these two, Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is also operational around the moon.

Other than India, China, US and Korea also have their lunar missions orbiting around the moon.

– India’s Chandrayaan 3, Russia’s Luna-25 Prepping for Landing Next Week

Race to the moon is gaining pace as India’s Chandrayaan-3 and Russia’s Luna-25 are gearing up for their landings scheduled for next week.

While, Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled to land on August 23-24, Luna-25 might land between August 21-23, this has intensified the global attention on these missions.

– ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 Completes Last Lunar Manoeuver

India’s third mission to moon, Chandrayaan in another milestone, successfully completed its fifth and last lunar orbit manoeuver on Wednesday, taking the mission one more step ahead in being closer to the moon.

This completion allows the spacecraft to gear up for the separation of its Lander Module and Propulsion Module.

Posting on X, ISRO said, “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 manoeuvres are completed. It’s time for preparations as the Propulsion Module and the Lander Module gear up for their separate journeys.”

– ISRO Shares Images of Earth and Moon Captured by Spacecraft’s Imager

ISRO shared images of the Earth and Moon on X. The view of the Earth was captured by the Lander Imager (LI) Camera on the day of the launch and the view of the moon was captured by the Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera (LHVC) on August 6, a day after the mission’s insertion into the lunar orbit.

– Chandrayaan-3 Milestone: Mission Enters Lunar Orbit

The Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully entered the lunar orbit on August 5, putting the mission on its path to achieving the goal of a soft-landing on the moon’s south pole, scheduled for August 23.