By 
August 17th, 2023
Image credit: ISRO
A major milestone has been reached in India’s Chandrayaan-3 Moon lander/rover mission.
The Lander Module has successfully separated from the spacecraft’s Propulsion Module.
From the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Lander Module: “Thanks for the ride, mate!”
The Lander Module is set to descend to a slightly lower orbit around the Moon given a modest de-boosting nudge planned for August 18.
Pre-launch photo shows Lander Module atop Propulsion Module.
Image credit: ISRO
A planned landing attempt is slated for August 23.
SHAPE I’m in (thanks Robbie!)
Meanwhile, the Propulsion Module will continue its journey in its current Moon orbit for months/years, ISRO states.
Onboard that Moon-circling module is the Spectro-polarimetry of HAbitable Planet Earth (SHAPE).
Image credit: ISRO
“Future discoveries of smaller planets in reflected light would allow us to probe into variety of exo-planets which would qualify for habitability (or for presence of life),” ISRO explains.
The SHAPE payload onboard would perform spectroscopic study of the Earth’s atmosphere and also measure the variations in polarization from the clouds on Earth.
This payload is “SHAPEd” by U R Rao Satellite Center/ISRO in Bengaluru, capital city of Karnataka state in southern India.
Posted in Space News
