India's ambitious lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, has successfully entered lunar orbit and shared its first-ever images of the Moon. While there are only about 20 days till the soft landing on the lunar surface, the video shared by the space agency provided a sneak peek of the fine intricacies of the Moon's craters as the spacecraft nears it.
ISRO described Chandrayaan 3's status by saying 'I am feeling lunar gravity’ after it achieved the major milestone that hauled it closer to the Moon.
Isro successfully guided Chandrayaan-3 into a lunar orbit without a glitch, marking a major milestone for India’s third lunar mission. The spacecraft is scheduled for another maneuver, after which three more operations will be carried out before the landing module Vikram, carrying the rover Pragyan, separates from its propulsion module. This will be followed by de-orbiting maneuvers leading up to the much-anticipated soft landing.
Continue viewing BT Visual Story
Catch the latest business news, share market updates, expert analysis and exclusives only on BTTV.in
The spacecraft underwent a planned orbit reduction maneuver on August 7. As per ISRO, the Moon now stands a mere 4313 kms away from the present location of the Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft. “The next operation to further reduce the orbit is scheduled for August 9, between 13:00 and 14:00 hours IST," the ISRO tweeted on Sunday.
Upon landing on the surface of the moon, it will operate for one lunar day, which is approximately 14 Earth days. One day on the Moon is equal to 14 days on Earth.
After the United States, China, and Russia, India will become the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the moon's surface, establishing the country's capability for a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface.
Chandrayaan-3, which has covered over three lakh kilometers in space between Earth and the Moon, had completed its orbits around the Earth on August 1 and began its trans-lunar journey towards the Moon.
The approved cost of the Chandrayaan-3 mission is Rs. 250 crores, excluding the cost of the launch vehicle. Despite the mission's complexity and high technological requirements, ISRO has managed to keep the costs relatively low, showcasing its efficiency and resourcefulness.
The development phase of Chandrayaan-3, which was successfully launched on July 14 began in January 2020. However, the launch was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors such as space debris.
The spacecraft which has completed 23 days out of 40 day lunar journey is said to be in normal health by the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at the Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (Istrac) in Bengaluru with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Byalalu, near Bengaluru.