ISRO successfully performs second orbit-raising manoeuvre of Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft

Chandrayaan 3 moon mission

The Indian Space Research Organisation has successfully performed the second orbit-raising manoeuvre (Earth-bound apogee firing) of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft.

"The spacecraft is now in 41603 km X 226 km orbit", the national space agency said on Monday.

The next firing is planned for Tuesday between 2 pm and 3 pm. it said.

The Launch Vehicle Mark - III (LVM3) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), carrying the Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft lifted off from Sriharikota on July 14 at 2.35 pm, making it the third time that India set course for the Moon.

Fifteen minutes post-launch, the Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft successfully separated from the LVM3 launch vehicle in an orbit near the Earth and commenced its long way toward the Moon. According to ISRO, the Rs 615 crore spacecraft, comprising of a lander and rover is expected to make a soft landing on the Moon either on August 23 or August 24.

If the landing is successful, it will make India the fourth nation after the US, the Soviet Union, and China to achieve a soft landing on the Moon.

Additionally, it is expected that the Chandrayaan 3 lander and rover will land somewhere near the South Pole area of the Moon, which no country has done till now.