Chandrayaan-3: First orbit-raising manoeuvre successfully performed, says ISRO

Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation successfully performed the first orbit raising manoeuvre of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on Saturday, the space agency said.

The health of the spacecraft was “normal”, ISRO said in a social media post.

Chandrayaan-3 is now in an orbit, which when closest to Earth is at 173 kilometres and farthest from Earth is at 41,762 km.

ISRO, on July 14, successfully launched the third edition of its lunar exploration programme from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, aimed at making a soft landing on the unexplored south pole of the Moon that would help India achieve a rare feat.

Only three countries the United States, China and Russia have managed to land on the lunar surface so far.

Earlier in the day, Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre S Unnikrishnan Nair said scientists at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru would be engaged in the firing of the onboard thrusters attached to Chandrayaan-3 from Saturday onwards, taking the spacecraft further away from Earth on a crucial 41-day phase to make the soft landing on Moon.