The lander and rover, Pragyaan, are expected to land on the Moon on August 23.
The Chandrayaan-3's lander 'Vikram' has successfully separated from spacecraft. The lander and rover, Pragyaan, are now expected to land on the Moon on August 23. Once on the Moon, the lander Vikram will photograph the Pragyaan rover, which will deploy its instruments to study seismic activity on the lunar surface. India's ambitious moon mission Chandrayaan-3 successfully completed its fifth and final lunar-bound orbit maneuver yesterday, bringing its spacecraft even closer to the surface of the Moon.
Here are the LIVE updates on the Chandrayaan-3's Lander Vikram:
"Thanks For The Ride, Mate": Lander Vikram Detaches From SpacecraftThey had travelled together for over a month through thick and thin, air and space. And then it was time for goodbye. As their paths diverged, one said to the other, "Thanks for the ride, mate!".
This is how the Indian Space Research Agency (ISRO) imagined the moment Chandrayaan-3's lander Vikram detached from the spacecraft's propulsion module and started their separate journeys.
ISRO Chairman on most critical part of landing
ISRO Chairman S Somanath had recently said the most critical part of the landing is the process of bringing the velocity of the lander from 30 km height to the final landing, and that the ability to transfer the spacecraft from horizontal to vertical direction is the "trick we have to play" here.
"The velocity at the starting of the landing process is almost 1.68 km per second, but this speed is horizontal to the surface of the moon. The Chandrayaan-3 here is tilted almost 90 degrees, it has to become vertical. So, this whole process of turning from horizontal to vertical is a very interesting calculation mathematically. We have done a lot of simulations. It is here where we had the problem last time (Chandrayaan-2)," Somanath explained.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission: Propulsion Module Continues Its Journey In Current Orbit, Says ISRO
Chandrayaan-3, Lander 'Vikram' Separates From Spacecraft