India’s third moon mission, Chandrayaan-3 was successfully launched into lunar orbit: ISRO

Chandrayaan-3, India’s ambitious third moon mission, had successfully entered the lunar orbit on Saturday, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) declared through Twitter.

The necessary move was carried out from an ISRO facility based in Bengaluru, according to the city’s space agency.

“Chandrayaan-3 has been successfully inserted into the lunar orbit. A retro-burning at the Perilune was commanded from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX), ISTRAC (ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network), Bengaluru,” the agency said in a tweet.

The spacecraft’s closest approach to the moon is at Perilune. The organization expects that the decrease of orbit, which comes after entering lunar orbit, should be carried out at 11 PM on Sunday.

Additionally, ISRO sent a message regarding its success to its offices via satellite: “MOX, ISTRAC, this is Chandrayaan-3. I am feeling lunar gravity.”

The craft was successfully launched toward the Moon from Earth’s orbit on August 1 in a crucial maneuver known as a slingshot move. The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft left its orbit around the Earth after its trans-lunar injection and started traveling toward the moon’s vicinity.

ISRO has made a number of tactical decisions over the last three weeks that have gradually increased the spacecraft’s distance from Earth. Notably, a vital slingshot maneuver was used on August 1 to successfully launch the craft from Earth’s orbit toward the Moon.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft left the Earth’s orbit and began its journey towards the Moon after completing trans-lunar injection.

The hardest element of the mission, the soft landing, is scheduled for August 23. When contact with the Lander “Vikram” was lost, Chandrayaan 2 was unable to accomplish this task.

If Chandrayaan-3 is successful, India will join an exclusive group of nations that includes the US, Russia, and China and has successfully completed lunar landings.