Chandrayaan-3 Big Update: Vikram Lander Separate from Spacecraft Today

Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander is scheduled to separate from the spacecraft’s propulsion module today. The lander and rover, Pragyaan, are expected to land on the Moon on August 23. Chandrayaan-3 Big Update: Vikram Lander Separate from Spacecraft Today.

Once on the Moon, the Vikram lander will photograph the Pragyaan rover, which will deploy its instruments to study seismic activity on the lunar surface. According to a report by the Times of India, the manoeuvres will eventually put Vikram in an orbit where the Perilune (closest point to the Moon) is 30 km and Apolune (farthest point from Moon) is 100 km.

The final landing of Chandrayaan-3 will be attempted from this orbit. After this, the lander is expected to undergo a “deboost” (the process of slowing down) and make a soft landing on the south polar region of the Moon next week. The final landing of the Chandrayaan-3, comprising Vikram (landeR) and Pragyan (rover) is projected to take place on Moon’s surface on 23 August.

ISRO scientists will have to overcome the phase where the spacecraft’s horizontal orientation needs to change to a vertical one before it makes the final descent on 23 August. Earlier, ISRO Chairman S Somnath had said the most critical part of the landing is the process of bringing the velocity of the lander from 30 km height to the final landing, and that the ability to transfer the spacecraft from horizontal to vertical direction is the “trick we have to play” here.

Chandrayaan-3 is India’s third lunar mission and second attempt at achieving a soft landing on the Moon’s surface. It is a follow-on to the unsuccessful 2019 lunar mission – Chandrayaan-2.

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