The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully completed the second and final Deboosting Operation for the Lunar mission Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram Lander, bringing it closer to the moon. The lander is now in an orbit with a closest point to the moon at 25 km and a farthest point at 134 km.

On August 23 evening, the lunar module will attempt to touch down on the unexplored south polar region of the lunar surface. This comes after the successful deboosting operation that reduced the orbit of the Lander Module, comprising the lander (Vikram) and the rover (Pragyan), to 113 km x 157 km.

The second and final deboosting operation has further reduced the LM orbit to 25 km x 134 km. The module will undergo internal checks and await the sun-rise at the designated landing site. The powered descent is expected to commence on August 23, 2023, around 1745 Hrs. IST.

On Thursday, the lander module separated from the propulsion module, which will continue orbiting Earth to study its atmosphere and measure the polarisation of light from clouds.

Chandrayaan-3, a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2, aims to demonstrate safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. Its mission objectives include a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, rover roving on the Moon, and conducting in-situ scientific experiments.

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