Chandrayaan 2 Closer to Moon, Vikram Lander Successfully Separated From Orbiter at 1:15 PM Today
The separation was scheduled between 12:45 pm and 1:45 pm today, and it was carried out with success at 1:15am, the ISRO said. With this step being implemented without any hurdle, India's ambitious lunar mission has inched further close to its target.
New Delhi, September 2: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) issued a statement on Monday confirming the successful separation of the Vikram Lander from the Chandrayaan 2 Orbiter. The separation was scheduled between 12:45 pm and 1:45 pm today, and it was carried out with success at 1:15 pm, the ISRO said. With this step being implemented without any hurdle, India's ambitious lunar mission has inched further close to its target. ISRO Performs Final Manoeuvre For Vikram Lander.
"The Vikram Lander successfully separated from #Chandrayaan2 Orbiter at 1:15 pm today (September 2, 2019). The Vikram Lander is currently located in an orbit of 119 km x 127 km. The Chandrayaan 2 Orbiter continues to orbit the moon in its existing orbit," said the statement issued y ISRO on social media.
See ISRO's Tweet Here:
"The health of the Orbiter and Lander is being monitored from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Bylalu, near Bengaluru. All the systems of Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter and Lander are healthy," ISRO further said in its detailed statement, adding that the next maneuver is scheduled tomorrow (September 03, 2019) between 8:45 am to 9:45 am.
The deorbiting manoeuvres scheduled for tomorrow will be followed by the powered descent from an elliptical orbit of the main rover on September 7. Before the landing, Vikram will capture the image of the surface where the landing is planned.
If the mission is successful, India will become the fourth nation after the United States, Russia and China to "soft-land" its spacecraft on the moon's surface.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 02, 2019 01:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).