"Chandrayaan-3: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has released the first visuals of the Moon as captured by India's third lunar mission. The images were taken a day after the spacecraft successfully entered the lunar orbit. The video shows the Moon in a captivating bluish-green hue, revealing numerous craters.
"The Moon, as viewed by Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft during Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) on August 5, 2023," tweeted the Mission's official Twitter handle along with the shared video.
Second Lunar bound orbit maneuver for Chandrayaan-3 performed successfully
The second Lunar bound orbit maneuver for the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was successfully executed on August 6, achieving an orbit of 170 km x 4313 km. The next Lunar bound orbit maneuver is scheduled on August 9.
Following the Sunday maneuver, three more operations are planned until August 17, after which the Landing Module Vikram carrying the rover Pragyan will detach from the Propulsion Module. Subsequently, de-orbiting maneuvers will be carried out on the lander before the final powered descent on the moon.
Chandrayaan-3 successfully inserted into lunar orbit
On August 5, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was successfully inserted into the lunar orbit from an ISRO facility in Bengaluru. This marked a significant milestone in the space agency's ambitious Rs 600 crore mission.
"I am feeling lunar gravity," was Chandrayaan-3's message to the ISRO after the required maneuver, which took it closer to the Moon, was executed flawlessly from the space agency's facility in Bengaluru.
Chandrayaan-3 covered two-thirds of the distance to Moon
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently informed that the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft has covered about two-thirds of the distance to the Moon since its launch on July 14. The next 18 days will be crucial for ISRO's third lunar mission.
The space agency has assured that the health of the mission is normal, and a soft landing attempt on the lunar surface is planned for August 23.
If Chandrayaan-3 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."