Chandrayaan-3 Completes Successfully Fifth Earth Orbit-Raising Maneuver

New Delhi: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Tuesday achieved yet another milestone in the Chandrayaan-3 mission as scientists successfully executed the fifth orbit-raising maneuver for the spacecraft. The significant development was announced by ISRO in a recent post, marking another step towards the moon.

The maneuver, known as “Earth-bound perigee firing,” was carried out from the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) located in Bengaluru. “The spacecraft is expected to attain an orbit of 127609 km x 236 km. The achieved orbit will be confirmed after the observations,” stated ISRO.

The Translunar Injection (TLI), the next firing essential for the mission, is scheduled for August 1, 2023, between midnight and 1 am IST, as informed by the national space agency.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission, launched on July 14, aims to explore and study the lunar environment, including its history, geology, and potential resources. Comprising a lander named Vikram and a rover named Pragyan, the spacecraft is designed to perform a series of scientific experiments on the lunar surface.

In preparation for lunar insertion, the ISRO scientists performed the fourth orbit-raising manoeuvre on July 20, followed by the third on July 18, and the second on July 16. Each maneuver involved gradually increasing the spacecraft’s speed and carefully positioning it for the forthcoming lunar landing.