New Delhi: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday said that India’s spacecraft Chandrayaan-2 has successfully completed its third orbit maneuver.
All craft parameters were normal, the space agency said after the maneuver. Chandrayaan 2 which is currently in the lunar orbit is expected to land in the south pole of the Moon on September 7.
“Third Lunar bound orbit maneuver for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully today (August 28, 2019) beginning at 0904 hrs IST, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of the maneuver was 1190 seconds. The orbit achieved is 179 km x 1412 km,” ISRO said in an update. “All spacecraft parameters are normal. The next Lunar bound orbit maneuver is scheduled on August 30, 2019 between 1800 – 1900 hrs IST,” it said.
In a major milestone for India, the spacecraft had entered the lunar orbit on August 20 by performing lunar orbit insertion maneuver.
After performing second lunar bound orbit maneuver on August 21, ISRO had released two sets of pictures of Moon captured by the spacecraft.
There will be two more orbit maneuvers to make the spacecraft enter into its final orbit passing over the lunar poles at a distance of about 100 km from the Moon’s surface.
ISRO has said subsequently the lander would separate from the Orbiter (on September 2) and enter into a 100 km X 30 km orbit around the Moon.
Then it would perform a series of complex braking maneuvers to soft land in the South polar region of the Moon on September 7, 2019.
ISRO Chairman K Sivan has said the proposed soft-landing on the Moon is going to be a “terrifying” moment as it is something ISRO has not done before, where as LOI maneuver was successfully carried out during the the Chandrayaan-1 mission.
The health of the spacecraft is being continuously monitored from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Byalalu, near Bengaluru, the space agency has said.
