Chandrayaan-3 Nears Milestone: Lander Vikram Set to Separate, Lunar Landing on August 23

New Delhi, August 17, 2023: India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission is swiftly progressing towards a significant milestone, with its lander Vikram scheduled to detach from the spacecraft’s propulsion module today. The highly anticipated lunar landing of the lander and the rover, Pragyaan, is scheduled for August 23. Once on the Moon’s surface, Vikram will capture images of the Pragyaan rover, which will deploy its scientific instruments to investigate seismic activity on the lunar terrain.

Chandrayaan-3’s journey thus far has been marked by a series of successful lunar-bound maneuvers, culminating in its fifth and final maneuver yesterday. These maneuvers have brought the spacecraft closer to its destination – the Moon’s surface.

The upcoming separation of the lander Vikram from the propulsion module marks a crucial phase in the mission’s execution. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) expressed its progress, stating, “Today’s successful firing… has put Chandrayaan-3 into an orbit of 153 km x 163 km, as intended. With this, the lunar-bound manoeuvres are completed. It’s time for preparations as the Propulsion Module and the Lander Module gear up for their separate journeys.”

Chandrayaan-3, launched aboard the LVM3 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on July 14, ventured into lunar orbit on August 5. Its much-anticipated lunar touchdown is slated for August 23. The recent achievement of placing the spacecraft in a circular orbit of 153 kilometers by 163 kilometers around the Moon has set the stage for the final phases of the mission.

Following the separation of Vikram and the propulsion module, the latter will continue its trajectory in the same orbit. Subsequently, on August 23, Vikram will undertake a gentle landing on the lunar surface.

During this intricate operation, Vikram will photograph the rover Pragyaan, which will employ laser beams to analyze the lunar regolith by melting a small portion and studying the emitted gases.