Chandrayaan-3: After fourth orbit-raising manoeuvre, here's where the spacecraft is

India's moon mission Chandrayaan-3, which was launched on July 14, is making steady progress and is currently in a 71351 km x 233 km orbit around Earth. The Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO, the country's premier space agency, successfully performed the fourth orbit-raising manoeuvre of the spacecraft on July 20.

The scientists performed the fourth orbit-raising manoeuvre from the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru last Thursday. The first manoeuvre took place on July 15, followed by the second on July 16, and the third on July 18. With each maneuver, the space agency gradually increased the spacecraft's speed and positioned it for lunar insertion.

The next firing is planned for July 25 between 2 pm and 3 pm, the space agency said. This event will involve precision-thruster firings to increase the spacecraft's orbital altitude. Once the final maneuver is completed, the spacecraft will perform a series of Earth orbits and engine burns to gradually increase its speed and position it for lunar insertion.

The spacecraft will then enter an Earth-to-Moon transfer orbit, after which the gravity of the Moon will pull it in, India Today reported. "...craft is on its way to the Moon. In another few days it will go (the lander will soft-land on the Lunar surface)," ISRO Chairman S Somanath said last Thursday. "I am sure that you will find something very substantial through this (Chandrayaan-3) mission as far as science is concerned," he said.

The ISRO successfully launched Chandrayaan-3 on board an LVM3-M4 rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on July 14. And 16 minutes after lift-off at 2.35 pm, the satellite was precisely injected into the intended orbit. The Chandrayaan-3 mission is on a crucial 40-day journey to the Moon's south pole, a region that is yet to be explored. 

A day after the launch, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Director S Unnikrishnan Nair said that from today onwards, the onboard thrusters will be fired and Chandryaan-3 will be taken away from Earth for an eventful landing on Moon's surface on August 23.

The ISRO chief said he is expecting Chandrayaan-3 to enter into lunar orbit by August 1 and two-three weeks from then, the separation of the propulsion module and lander module will happen on August 17. "The final descent is currently planned for August 23, at 5.47 pm IST. That is the plan if it goes as per the schedule," he said.