ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 mission is just one step away from making history. ISRO successfully separated the Vikram lander from the propulsion module, thus starting its descent towards moon. The lander is now in its deboosting phase as it makes its way to the lunar south pole
The separation took place on August 17 at around 1:30 PM.
The Vikram Lander has been positioned about 30-100 kilometres away from its intended landing position. Following the separation, the lander has now entered its “deboost” phase.
The idea is that the Vikram lander will now slowly start accelerating in a direction opposite the Moon’s gravitational pull so that the lander’s velocity gradually decreases, as it approaches the lunar surface. Think of this manoeuvre as slowly tapping the brakes of your car or bike to slow it down. ISRO will carry out the first major deboosting tomorrow, at 4:00 PM
The Vikram lander is now at a junction where the closest point on the moon, known as Peruline, will be 30 kilometres away, and its farthest point, the Apolune, will be about 100 kilometres from the Moon.
Following its separation from the lander module, Vikram-3 is scheduled to perform a soft landing on the south pole of the Moon, on August 23. Following its landing, ISRO will soon get the Pragyan rover working its margin on the moon.