INDIA: Chandrayaan-3 enters the lunar orbit! As India gears up for a lunar landing in the upcoming days, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has inched towards another successive step. The nation’s third lunar mission, Chandrayaan 3, has successfully entered the Moon’s orbit.
ISRO revealed that around 7 p.m. IST, the Lunar Orbit Injection (LOI), which put the spacecraft into a stable lunar orbit, took place.
ISRO announced the news via Twitter. The tweet read, “Chandrayaan-3 Mission: “MOX, ISTRAC, this is Chandrayaan-3. I am feeling lunar gravity 🌖” Chandrayaan-3 has been successfully inserted into the lunar orbit. A retro-burning at the Perilune was commanded from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX), ISTRAC, Bengaluru. The next operation – reduction of orbit – is scheduled for Aug 6, 2023, around 23:00 Hrs. IST.”
On July 14, 2023, the Satish Dhawan Space Centre launched the Chandrayaan-3 via the LVM-3 rocket. Between Earth and the Moon, it has traveled more than three lakh kilometers as of this point. On August 1, the spacecraft approached next crucial step as it commenced its trans-lunar trip toward the Moon after completing its orbits around the Earth.
In Bengaluru, ISRO’s Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network (ISTRAC) played a vital role in this space operation as it executed the LOI’s maneuver. The spacecraft’s velocity was decreased during this key maneuver, which allowed the Moon’s gravitational field to pull it into a stable lunar orbit.
In the days that will follow, a series of maneuvers are planned to progressively lower the spacecraft’s altitude as it moves in an elliptical orbit around the Moon.
India marches one step closer to bag the title of the fourth country following the US, China, and Russia to successfully land a spacecraft on the Moon’s surface with Chandrayaan-3’s entry into the lunar orbit.
In 2019, ISRO launched its Chandrayaan-2 mission to achieve the same, but unfortunately, it encountered difficulties. This time, India has bounced back to attempt another mission, which intends to show that the nation is capable of making a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface.
Following the successful entry into the lunar orbit, now comes the next phase of the space mission. As per ISRO, it will comprise the propulsion module’s separation from the lander. This will continue Chandrayaan-3’s space voyage towards the lunar South Pole. On August 23, a soft landing will take place on the lunar surface.
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