The first look at the Moon captured by Chandrayaan-3 was released on Sunday, a day after the spacecraft successfully entered the lunar orbit.
“The Moon, as viewed by Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft during Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) on August 5, 2023," the tweet said.
“I am feeling lunar gravity," was Chandrayaan-3’s message to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday after the successful maneuver that brought it closer to the moon, marking a major milestone in the space agency’s ambitious Rs 600 crore mission.
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The ISRO shared a message from the satellite to its centres, which read, “MOX, ISTRAC, this is Chandrayaan-3. I am feeling lunar gravity."
“Chandrayaan-3 has been successfully inserted into the lunar orbit. A retro-burning at the Perilune was commanded from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX), ISTRAC (ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network), Bengaluru," the space agency said. Perilune is the spacecraft’s closest point to the moon.
“The next operation-reduction of orbit-will be done at 11 PM on Sunday," the ISRO said in a tweet.
ISRO has announced that it will perform next operation to further reduce orbit of Chandrayaan-3 on August 9 between 1 pm and 2 pm.
Following the maneuver later in the night, three additional operations are scheduled till August 17.
Subsequently, the Landing Module Vikram, carrying the rover Pragyan inside, will detach from the Propulsion Module.
Afterward, de-orbiting maneuvers will be conducted on the lander, leading to the final powered descent on the Moon.
ISRO has said it will attempt a soft landing on the Moon’s surface on August 23.
