By 
August 6th, 2023
Image credit: ISRO
India’s Chandrayaan-3 Moon lander/rover mission is in a lunar orbit of 102 miles (164 kilometers) by 11,230 miles (18,074 kilometers), as intended. The next maneuver by the Moon-orbiting spacecraft is scheduled for August 6, between 22:30 and 23:30 Indian Standard Time (IST).
According to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), as the mission progresses, a series of maneuvers are to gradually reduce Chandrayaan-3’s orbit and position it over the lunar poles. At the appointed time, Chandrayaan-3’s propulsion module will separate from the lander while in orbit.
Image credit: ISRO
The propulsion module will carry the lander and rover configuration until a 62 miles (100 kilometers) lunar orbit above the Moon’s terrain is achieved. The propulsion module has a Spectro-polarimetry of HAbitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) payload to study the spectral and polarimetric measurements of Earth from lunar orbit.
Complex braking maneuvers
A series of complex braking maneuvers will be executed to facilitate a soft landing in the south polar region of the Moon on August 23, 2023.
Image credit: ISRO
ISRO notes that, throughout the mission, the health of the spacecraft is being continuously monitored from the Mission Operations Complex at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network, the Indian Deep Space Network antenna at Byalalu, near Bengaluru, with the support from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Deep space antenna.
Screengrab image from India’s Chandrayaan 3 from lunar orbit.
Image credit: ISRO/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Posted in Space News
