WATCH | ISRO releases video of the moon captured by Chandrayaan-3 as it enters lunar orbit

India’s third moon mission’s spacecraft, Chandrayaan-3, took another step forward on Saturday after the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)announced that it had successfully entered the moon’s orbit.

ISRO releases video of the moon

At present, the craft is circling the moon in a highly elliptical orbit. TheIndian space agency, on Sunday (August 6), released a video captured during theLunar Orbit Insertion (LOI)on X, formerly known as Twitter,that took place a day prior.

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The video was released a day after the completion of a critical manoeuvre, LOI, with which Chandrayaan-3 was successfully inserted into a lunar orbit.

It is a significant milestone for the Indian space programme, that all Indian Lunar crafts Chandrayaan-1 (2008), Chandrayaan-2 (2019) and the ongoing Chandrayaan-3, have flawlessly entered into an orbit around the moon.

ALSO READ |With Chandrayaan-3 entering Lunar orbit, all Indian Lunar crafts have circled the moon

Chandrayaan-3 successfully completesorbit reduction manoeuvre

In an update about the mission, ISRO took to X and also said, "The spacecraft successfully underwent a planned orbit reduction manoeuvre. The retro-firing of engines brought it closer to the Moon's surface, now to 170 km x 4313 km."

It added, "The next operation to further reduce the orbit is scheduled for August 9, 2023, between 13:00 and 14:00 hrs. IST."

Lunar Orbit Injection (LOI)

In the late hours of July 31, the craft performed Trans-Lunar injection (TLI), a long-duration firing of its engines, and began a journey that pushed it out of Earth’s gravitational influence and towards Lunar gravitational influence.

Speaking to WION about the Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI), Dr Mylswamy Annadurai (Retd), Former Director of India’s UR Rao Satellite Centre, said, “During the Lunar orbit insertion, the craft will reach the vicinity of the moon and within the Lunar gravitational influence. Thereafter, it would fire its onboard engines to slow itself down and get captured into Lunar orbit. Then, it would begin to circle the moon in a highly elliptical orbit.”

During the first weeks of August, the spacecraft is set to complete five to six orbits around the moon before a precise landing site on the moon’s south pole area is determined.

ALSO READ |Chandrayaan-3 successfully inserted into Moon’s orbit, under lunar gravity now: ISRO

About the Chandrayaan-3 mission

Chandrayaan-3 was launched on July14 from India’s spaceport, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota and is expected to make a soft landing near the Lunar south pole at around 70 degrees latitude, by the end of August. Asuccessful Lunar soft landing would make India the fourth nation to do soafter Russia, the United States and China.

India’s third moon mission spacecraft has covered over three lakh kilometres between Earth and Moon. It had completed its orbits around the Earth on August 1 when it embarked on its trans-lunar journey.

(With inputs from agencies)

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