Source : The Indian Express
Countdown for Landing begins: Chandrayaan-3 lander completes final deboosting op; descent expected to begin on August 23
The final deboosting operation of the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s Lander Module (LM) reduced the module’s orbit, drawing the moon within its reach, the Indian Space Research Organisation indicated on Sunday. The national space agency added that the LM would now undergo internal checks.
“The powered descent is expected to commence on August 23, 2023, around 1745 Hrs IST,” ISRO stated over Twitter.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
The second and final deboosting operation has successfully reduced the LM orbit to 25 km x 134 km.
The module would undergo internal checks and await the sun-rise at the designated landing site.
The powered descent is expected to commence on August… pic.twitter.com/7ygrlW8GQ5
— ISRO (@isro) August 19, 2023
Union Minister Jitendra Singh, meanwhile, announced, “Prepare for landing! Countdown begins… as destination Moon draws just within reach”.
Prepare for landing!
Final deboosting operation of #Chandrayaan3 successfully reduces the Lander Module orbit to 25 km x 134 km.
Countdown begins… as destination #Moon draws just within reach. pic.twitter.com/5efmJekWy6— Dr Jitendra Singh (@DrJitendraSingh) August 20, 2023
Meanwhile, Russia’s Luna 25 spacecraft, which was expected to reach the moon between August 21 and 23, suffered a technical glitch during a pre-landing manoeuvre on Saturday. “During the operation, an abnormal situation occurred on board the automatic station, which did not allow the maneuver to be performed with the specified parameters,” Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, said in a Telegram post. It did not specify if the incident will prevent the spacecraft from landing on the moon.
Both Russia and India aim to become the first country to land on the moon’s South Pole. Chandrayaan-3 is India’s second attempt at carrying out a “soft landing” on the lunar surface, after Chandrayaan-2 crashed during the final landing manoeuvre.
