Bengaluru: ISRO on Friday said it has successfully performed the fourth lunar bound orbit manoeuvre for the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft, that is currently in the lunar orbit for its rendezvous with the Moon. All spacecraft parameters are normal, the Bengaluru headquartered space agency said after the maneuver on the spacecraft.
“Fourth Lunar bound orbit manoeuvre for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully today (30 August 2019) beginning at 1818 hrs IST as planned, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of the manoeuvre was 1155 seconds. The orbit achieved is 124 km x 164 km,” the Indian Space Research Organisation said in an update.
The next Lunar-bound orbit manoeuvre is scheduled on 1 September 2019 between 1800-1900 hrs IST. In a major milestone for India’s second Moon mission, the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft had successfully entered the lunar orbit on 20 August by performing Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) manoeuvre.
There will be one more more orbit manoeuvre on Sunday to make the spacecraft enter its final orbit, passing over the lunar pole at a distance of about 100 km from the Moon’s surface. ISRO has said subsequently the lander will separate from the Orbiter (on 2 September) and enter into a 100 km X 30 km orbit around the Moon. It will then perform a series of complex braking maneuvers to soft land in the South polar region of the Moon on 7 September 2019.