The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Tuesday successfully performed the third orbit-raising manoeuvre (Earth-bound perigee firing) of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft.

The next firing is planned for July 20 between 2 pm and 3 pm, the national space agency headquartered said.

”The third orbit-raising maneuver (Earth-bound perigee firing) is performed successfully from ISTRAC (ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network)/ISRO, Bengaluru,” it said.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon was launched on July 14.

Chandrayaan-3 will be sent into the lunar transfer trajectory after the orbit-raising activities. With the challenging technological achievement of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, expected in late August, scientists hope to perfect gentle landings on the lunar surface. If the mission is successful, India will join the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union as the fourth country to achieve the remarkable feat.

The propulsion module and the lander would accelerate and travel for more than a month to the moon’s orbit before coming to a standstill 100 km above the lunar surface.
The Chandrayaan-3 project replaces Chandrayaan-2, which disappointed scientists by failing to achieve the intended soft landing on the moon’s surface in 2019.

About 16 minutes after launch, the propulsion module will separate from the rocket and start a journey around the earth in an elliptical orbit that will bring it 170 kilometres closer to the moon and 36,500 kilometres further away.

The propulsion module and the lander would accelerate and travel for more than a month to the moon’s orbit before coming to a standstill 100 km above the lunar surface.

With inputs from PTI.