The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) early this morning in the official Twitter announced that India’s third moon mission “Moon ship 3” (Chandrayaan 3) to further shorten the lunar orbital distance, as of its posting time, “moon ship 3 “As of its press time, Chandrayaan 3 is only 170 kilometers (perihelion) x 4,313 kilometers (aphelion) from the Moon.
Officials also said that the next operation to further shorten the spacecraft’s orbit is scheduled to be completed between 13:00-14:00 local time on August 9, with an attempted soft landing on the Moon’s south polar surface expected on August 23rd.
On Saturday, MoonShip 3 successfully entered its intended orbit near the Moon. Before the landing module detaches from the propulsion module on August 17, the spacecraft will perform three more maneuvers around the Moon. Subsequently, the lander will be de-orbited before finally landing on the moon.
ISRO successfully launched the Chandrayaan-3 lunar spacecraft on the afternoon of July 14, four years after the agency’s last failed mission to the Moon.
▲ Source ISRO
“ISRO Chairman Somanath said the launch of Chandrayaan-3, a 43.5-meter-tall, 642-ton Indian heavy-lift launch vehicle LVM3, has been a success, and that Chandrayaan-3 will now begin its journey to the moon.
As per the plan, MoonShip 3 will make a soft landing around August 23 near the south pole of the moon and if successful, India will become the fourth country after the US, the former Soviet Union and China to make a soft landing on the surface of the moon.
