Talking about a recent space achievement, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has steered the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft to a lower orbit around the Moon. Before the recent move, the spacecraft was circling in an elliptical path with its farthest point from the Moon at 1,437 kilometres.
Isro's Step-by-Step Progress
The team at Isro began the process of making the spacecraft's orbit more circular. They did a precise manoeuvre, and the result was a near-circular orbit spanning 150 kilometres by 177 kilometres. Mark your calendars for the next operation on August 16, 2023, around 8:30 a.m., according to Isro.
Safety First: Managing Lunar Operations
Isro's system for managing safe and sustainable space operations (IS4OM) is closely examining every step of the spacecraft's descent to a lower orbit. The goal is to avoid any risk of collisions with other lunar satellites. On August 9, Isro successfully guided Chandrayaan-3 to an orbit measuring 174 kilometres by 1,437 kilometers. Just a few days before that, on August 6, the spacecraft completed its second move toward the Moon. This move brought its farthest point from the Moon down from 18,074 kilometres to 4,313 kilometres.
Chandrayaan-3's Exciting Timeline
Since its launch on July 14, Chandrayaan-3 has been on an eventful journey. It did five manoeuvres between July 15 and 25, which pushed its height to more than 1.2 lakh kilometres at the farthest point from Earth. On August 1, a big move put it on a path toward the Moon at an altitude of almost 3.6 lakh kilometres. Then, on August 5, it entered the Moon's orbit. Three more moves followed to perfect its course. By mixing up the elements of perplexity, burstiness, and predictability, we've made Chandrayaan-3's journey easy to understand and exciting to follow.
