Chandrayaan-3 mission: Vikram lander to be deboosted today, check details
Chandrayaan-3 mission: Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander is set to undergo a crucial deboosting manoeuvre on Friday after successfully getting separated from the propulsion module a day before.
The deboosting manoeuvre is scheduled today at around 1600 IST.
Also Read: Chandrayaan-3 Mission: Vikram lander separates successfully from propulsion module
Deboosting is the process of slowing down to position itself in an orbit where the orbit's closest point to the Moon (Perilune) is 30 km and the farthest point (the Apolune) is 100 km.
Meanwhile, India's Chandrayaan-3 mission marked another giant leap in its lunar quest as the 'Vikram' lander module of the spacecraft successfully separated from the propulsion module on Thursday.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
‘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.
Now, ???????? has3⃣ ????️????️????️… pic.twitter.com/rJKkPSr6Ct — ISRO (@isro) August 17, 2023
The Chandrayaan-3 mission's lander is named after Vikram Sarabhai (1919–1971), who is widely regarded as the father of the Indian space programme.
On Wednesday, the spacecraft carried out the final lunar-bound orbit reduction manoeuvre of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, a week ahead of its scheduled landing on the south pole of the moon on August 23.
A GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle was used for the launch of the spacecraft that was placed in the lunar orbit on August 5 and since then it has been through a series of orbital manoeuvres.
It has been a month and three days since the Indian Space Research Organisation launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission on July 14. The spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota.
Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar exploration mission, will make India the fourth country after US, China, and Russia, to land its spacecraft on the surface of the moon and demonstrate the country’s abilities for safe and soft landing on the lunar surface.
Chandrayaan-3 components include various electronic and mechanical subsystems intended to ensure a safe and soft landing such as Navigation sensors, propulsion systems, guidance & control among others. Additionally, there are mechanisms for the release of Rover, two-way communication-related antennas and other onboard electronics.
Chandrayaan-3’s development phase commenced in January 2020 with plans to launch it somewhere in 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays in the development process.
The major discovery of the Chandrayaan-1 mission, launched in 2008, is the detection of water (H2O) and hydroxyl (OH) on the lunar surface. Data also revealed their enhanced abundance towards the polar region.
The primary science objective of the mission was to prepare a three-dimensional atlas of both the near and far sides of the Moon and to conduct chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface with high spatial resolution, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre under ISRO had said.
Also Read: ISRO Chandrayaan-3 mission FAQs: Launch date, place, timings, live streaming, other details
Moon serves as a repository of the Earth’s past and a successful lunar mission by India will help enhance life on Earth while also enabling it to explore the rest of the solar system and beyond.
- With inputs from agencies
