Chennai, Aug 16 – The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) says that Chandrayaan-3 is close to reaching the lunar orbit, the lander will separate from the propulsion module on Thursday.
“It is time to prepare as the Propulsion Module and Lander Module prepare for their separate journeys,” the space agency said. After separation, the lander-rover module will be ready for a scheduled landing on the lunar surface on August 23.
Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was put into orbit by India’s heavy lift rocket LVM3 in copybook style on July 14, 2023.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft consists of a propulsion module (weight 2,148 kg), a lander (1,723.89 kg) and a rover (26 kg).
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The main objective of the mission is to land the lander safely on the lunar surface.
A few days after entering the lunar orbit, the lander will separate from the propulsion module.
The lander is expected to soft-land near the south pole of the Moon at 5.47 pm on August 23.
The lander will land on the Moon from an altitude of about 100 km from the lunar surface.
Soft landing is a tricky issue, as it involves a series of complex maneuvers including rough and fine braking.
Imaging of the landing site area will be done before landing to find a safe and hazard-free area.
After the soft landing, the six-wheeled rover will eject and perform experiments on the lunar surface for a duration of one lunar day, which is equivalent to 14 Earth days.
