Chandrayaan-3 latest update: Lander to undergo 'deebosting' today; here's what it means

The Lander Module of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, which detached from the Propulsion Module on Thursday, is set to undergo a crucial deboosting manoeuvre today at around 4 pm, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has informed.

On August 17, the Lander Module, comprising the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover, successfully separated from the Propulsion Module, marking a significant milestone in the mission. The Lander Module is now ready to be lowered to an orbit that takes it closer to the moon's surface.

The Lander will undergo a "deboost" (the process of slowing down) to place it in an orbit where the Perilune (closest point to the moon) is 30 kilometres and Apolune (farthest point from the moon) is 100 km, from where the soft landing on the south polar region of the moon will be attempted.

The soft landing on the lunar south pole is scheduled at 5.47 pm next Wednesday.

"Thanks for the ride, mate! said the Lander Module (LM). LM is successfully separated from the Propulsion Module (PM). LM is set to descend to a slightly lower orbit upon a deboosting planned for tomorrow around 1600 Hrs IST," Isro said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday.

The Propulsion Module will continue its journey in the current orbit for months/years, it said.

"Now really the match starts. These are the final overs we are talking about," Chandrayaan-I Project Director M Annadurai told PTI.

Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 and its objectives are to demonstrate safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, roving on the moon, and to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.

Chandrayaan-2 had failed in its lunar phase when its lander 'Vikram' crashed into the surface of the moon following anomalies in the braking system in the lander while attempting a soft landing on September 7, 2019. Chandrayaan's maiden mission was in 2008.

If the Chandrayaan-3 mission succeeds in landing a robotic lunar rover in ISRO's second attempt in four years, India will become the fourth country to master the technology of soft-landing on the moon's surface after the US, China and the former Soviet Union.

Also Watch: Chandrayaan-3: Pragyan rover, not Vikram lander, is the dark horse of ISRO’s giant leap towards Moon