ISRO Successfully Injects Chandrayaan-3 Spacecraft into Translunar Orbit
On Tuesday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) achieved a significant milestone by successfully injecting the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft into the TransLunar orbit, as confirmed by an official statement.
ISRO tweeted, “Chandrayaan-3 completes its orbits around the earth and heads towards the moon. A successful perigee-firing performed at ISTRAC, ISRO has injected the spacecraft into the translunar orbit. Next stop: the Moon. As it arrives at the moon, the Lunar-Orbit Insertion (LOI) is planned for August 5, 2023.”
Translunar orbit injection is the critical process used to place the spacecraft on a trajectory towards the moon.
ISRO has scheduled the Lunar-Orbit Insertion (LOI) process for August 5, 2023.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was flawlessly placed into orbit on July 14, 2023, using India’s heavy-lift rocket LVM3.
Consisting of a propulsion module (weighing 2,148 kg), a lander (1,723.89 kg), and a rover (26 kg), the main objective of this mission is to successfully land the lander on the lunar surface.
After a couple of days in lunar orbit, the lander will separate from the propulsion module.
The planned date for the soft-landing near the South Pole of the moon is August 23 at 5.47 p.m.
During the descent to the moon from a height of about 100 km, the soft landing will involve a series of complex maneuvers comprising rough and fine braking.
Prior to landing, ISRO will conduct imaging of the landing site region to identify safe and hazard-free zones.
Following the successful soft landing, the six-wheeled rover will be deployed to conduct experiments on the lunar surface for a period of one lunar day, equivalent to 14 earth days.
