[ad_1]
The update shared by ISRO said that the spacecraft is now in an orbit of 41,762 km x 173 km. (photo: Twitter/ISRO)
Chandrayaan-3 was successfully launched on July 14 and is now in orbit, when it is closest to Earth at 173 km and farthest from Earth at 41,762 km.
The Indian Space Agency said scientists at the Indian Space Research Organization successfully conducted the first orbital lift maneuver of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on Saturday.
The organization said in a social media post that the spacecraft’s health was “normal.”
Chandrayaan-3 is now in an orbit, which when closest to Earth is 173 kilometers and farthest from Earth is 41,762 kilometers.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission Update: Spacecraft health is normal. The first orbit-raising maneuver (Earthbound-1 launch) was successfully conducted at ISTRAC/ISRO, Bengaluru. The spacecraft is now in an orbit of 41,762km x 173km,” Bengaluru-based ISRO said, sharing an image of the spacecraft which is expected to perform several maneuvers before its final descent to land on the moon’s south pole.
ISRO, on July 14, launched the third edition of its lunar exploration program from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, with the aim of making a soft landing on the moon’s unexplored south pole that would help India achieve a rare feat.
Only three countries – the United States, China and Russia – have managed to land on the moon so far.
Earlier in the day, Vikram Sarabhai Space Center Director S. Unnikrishnan Nair said that scientists at the ISRO Network Telemetry, Tracking and Command (ISTRAC), Bengaluru will be involved in firing the thrusters onboard the aircraft attached to Chandrayaan-3 from Saturday onwards. A spacecraft far from Earth is in the crucial 41-day phase to make a soft landing on the Moon.
“Today onwards, the thrusters on board will be fired and Chandrayaan-3 will be towed away from Earth for the eventful landing on the Moon on August 23,” said Nair.
The car system has performed very well. Because of that, whatever initial conditions the spacecraft needed, we delivered them very accurately.
After the successful launch of the LVM3-M4 rocket carrying Chandrayaan-3, project manager P Veeramuthuvel said on Friday that ISRO will closely monitor and control the spacecraft from ISTRAC.
“Several critical events are arranged, starting with maneuvers on Earth, insertion into lunar orbit and separation of the lander, a set of deboost manoeuvres, and finally the power descent stage for a soft (lunar) landing,” Veeramuthuvel said.
(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
[ad_2]
