Chandrayaan-3: Two weeks after launch, where's ISRO's Moon mission headed?

This day two weeks back, the nation watched with bated breath as the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) highly anticipated Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon took off. The launch took place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. 

ISRO is trying to use Earth’s gravity like a slingshot to fling the spacecraft towards the Moon’s orbit. If successful, it will be the first mission to soft-land in close proximity to the lunar south pole (dark side of the Moon), unlike all previous spacecraft that landed a few degrees north or south of the lunar equator.

Expert explains: Here’s how ISRO plans to soft land on Moon  

It may be recalled that the spacecraft comprises three elements: a propulsion module weighing 2,148 kg, a lander weighing 1,723.89 kg, and a rover weighing 26 kg.

What’s the rocket doing now, and where is it headed over the next few weeks? ISRO has been putting out periodic updates on the 41-day mission.

Progress till date

Propelled by the heavy-lift rocket LVM3, Chandrayaan-3 was placed into orbit following a seamless procedure on July 14. On the same day, the first orbit raising (Earth-bound perigee firing) was executed. The health of the spacecraft was “normal”, ISRO said in a social media post. 

It was then in a 41,762 km x 173 km orbit. The 173 km refers to the orbit’s closest distance from the Earth, while the 41,762 km is the farthest.

Also read: Chandrayaan-3: Timeline of ISRO’s moon missions from 2003 to 2023

On July 17, the second orbit raising was accomplished. The third orbit-raising manoeuvre was performed successfully at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru, on July 18. 

On July 20, International Moon Day 2023, ISRO successfully performed the fourth orbit-raising manoeuvre of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft. 

Five days later, the space agency accomplished the fifth and final orbit-raising manoeuvre of the spacecraft from ISTRAC. ISRO said the spacecraft is expected to attain an orbit of 1,27,609 km x 236 km. 

What happens next

The next firing, the TransLunar Injection (TLI), is planned for August 1, between 12 midnight and 1 am. When the ISRO guides Chandrayaan-3 towards the TLI, the spacecraft will follow the “Moon spaceway”. This means, it will escape from orbiting the Earth and follow a path that will take it to the vicinity of the Moon. It will then identify a landing spot on the Moon’s South Pole.

On August 23, the lander will separate from the propulsion module and attempt a gentle landing near the South Pole of the Moon, at 5.47 pm. The soft landing of the payload is the most challenging part of the mission.

There have been about 50 lunar soft-landing attempts in the past, of which only 24 have been successful so far. The previous mission — Chandrayaan-2 — could not achieve this objective when communication with the Lander Vikram was lost.

Watch: What does the AI onboard Chandrayaan-3 do? 

With the success of Chandrayaan-3 mission, scientists aim to master the technology of soft-landing on the Moon’s surface, which will catapult India into an elite club of nations like the US, China, and the former Soviet Union.