Chandrayaan 3 is scheduled to land on the unexplored south pole of the Moon on Wednesday, making India the first country to do so. Chandrayaan 3 was launched over a month ago from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota aboard a GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle.
According to a statement from Isro, the powered fall of the lander module, which is now in a 25 by 134-kilometer orbit, is scheduled to begin at 5:45 and end at 6:04 p.m. Chandrayaan 3’s main goal is to conduct in-situ experiments and show off its end-to-end landing and roaming capabilities in the highlands near the Moon’s south pole.
The Chandrayaan 3 mission timeline is as follows:
– July 11, 2023: A 24-hour long practise process was conducted to simulate all aspects of Chandrayaan 3’s launch preparation.
– On July 14, 2023, at 2.35 p.m. IST, Chandrayaan 3 launched from Sriharikota’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre on a GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle. In a perfect orbit, Chandrayaan-3 starts its trip to the Moon.
– On July 15, 2023, the spacecraft successfully completed its first orbit-raising manoeuvre, bringing it to a 41762 km x 173 km orbit.
– On July 17, 2023, the second orbit-raising procedure was carried out, launching the spacecraft into an orbit measuring 41603 km by 226 km.
– On July 22, 2023, Chadrayaan 3’s fourth orbit-raising manoeuvre was performed, putting it into a 71351 km x 233 km orbit.
– On August 1st, 2023, Chandrayaan 3 was launched into a translunar orbit, entering the lunar sphere of influence at a distance of 288 km x 369328 km.
– On August 5, 2023, Chandrayaan-3 was successfully placed into the planned lunar orbit. From the Mission Operations Complex (MOX), ISTRAC, Bengaluru, a retro-burning at the Perilune was directed. As intended, an orbit of 164 km by 18074 km was attained.
– In a scheduled orbit reduction manoeuvre on August 6, 2023, Chandrayaan 3 successfully placed itself in the second orbit, also known as Lunar Bound Phase 2, which is 170 km from the moon’s surface at its closest point.
– On August 9, 2023, a manoeuvre results in a reduction of the spacecraft’s orbit to 174 km by 1437 km.
– On August 14, 2023, the Chandrayaan mission begins the circularization phase of its orbit, placing the spacecraft in a nearly circular 151 x 179 km orbit.
– August 16, 2023: The spacecraft reached a short-lived 153 km by 163 km orbit after the firing, completing the lunar-bound manoeuvres.
– On August 17, 2023, the lander module and propulsion module successfully parted ways so that they could go in different directions.
– On August 19, 2023, the lander module conducted a deboosting procedure successfully, resulting in a 113 km by 157 km orbit.
– August 20, 2023: The orbit of the lander module was successfully lowered to 25 km x 134 km following the second and final deboosting procedure.
– On August 23, 2023, around 5.45 p.m. IST, the powered fall is anticipated to start.
