Chandrayaan-3’s Successful Earth Orbits: ISRO’s Mission Heads to Moon

New Delhi: Chandrayaan-3, the lunar mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has successfully completed its orbits around the Earth and is now en route to the Moon, as reported by PTI. The spacecraft was injected into the translunar orbit after a successful perigee-firing at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network (ISTRAC) on Tuesday.

ISRO confirmed the spacecraft’s progress, stating that the next destination for Chandrayaan-3 is the Moon. The Lunar-Orbit Insertion (LOI) is scheduled for August 5, 2023.Following the trans-lunar injection (TLI), the spacecraft has escaped Earth’s orbit and is now on its way to the vicinity of the Moon.

It began its journey towards the Moon on Tuesday.

ISRO’s Ambitious Plan: The Indian space agency aims to achieve a soft landing of the lander on the lunar surface on August 23. Earlier on July 18, Chandrayaan-3 had attained its third Earth-bound orbit as planned. The mission control at ISTRAC in Bengaluru successfully performed the third orbit-raising manoeuvre, allowing the spacecraft to attain an orbit size of 51400 × 228 square kilometers.

Earth-Bound Perigee Firing Explained: Earth-bound perigee firing refers to a spacecraft’s orbit-raising manoeuvre performed at Earth’s perigee, which is the farthest point in the orbit of the planet.ISRO is making significant strides in the Chandrayaan-3 mission, and the successful Lunar-Orbit Insertion will mark a crucial step towards achieving a soft landing on the lunar surface.