Chandrayaan-3 Mission LIVE: Isro eyes landing, releases incredible Moon pic

As India's Chandrayaan-3 mission continues to lower its orbit around the Moon, the lunar orbit is buzzing with activity. India is not alone around the Moon.

As of July 2023, the Moon is set to become a bustling hub of missions with six active lunar orbiters and several more on the way.

The current lunar traffic includes Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), two probes from Nasa's THEMIS mission repurposed under ARTEMIS, India's Chandrayaan-2, Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), and Nasa’s Capstone. READ MORE HERE

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, India's third unmanned Moon mission, has capture incredible images of the Moon and Earth from its journey.

The picture, which provides a detailed view of the lunar craters, was taken after the spacecraft entered the moon's orbit on August 5. This significant achievement brings the mission one step closer to its ultimate goal of landing near the challenging terrain of the moon's south polar region.

The image was captured by the Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera (LHVC) onboard the spacecraft. This camera, along with the Lander Imager (LI), was developed by the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad and the Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems in Bengaluru.

Chandrayaan-3, has successfully completed another crucial operation, bringing it even closer to the moon's surface. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that the spacecraft's orbit was reduced to 174 km x 1437 km following a maneuver performed today, August 9, 2023. The Chandrayaan-3 mission, which was launched on July 14, 2023, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, has been making steady progress towards its goal of landing on the moon. 

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will shortly reduce the orbit of the Chandrayaan-3 mission around the Moon. The spacecraft is eyeing a soft landing on the Moon on August 23 and the Indian space agency is altering its orbit by moon-bound maneuvers. 

In a moving tribute, AI imagines former president APJ Abdul Kalam, Vikram Sarabhai, and Satish Dhawan rejoicing as Chandrayaan-3 lands on the Moon. These images showcase the legacies of the brilliant scientists who set the foundation of the Indian space program. SEE ALL PICTURES HERE

Chandrayaan-3 – is in good health and its most critical phase will be the orbit determination process when the spacecraft starts moving closer to the moon from the 100 km circular orbit, Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman S Somanath said on Monday. The Vikram lander is expected to descend on the moon on August 23. "Up to 100 km we do not see any difficulty. The issues are only in estimation of the position of the lander accurately from earth. This measurement is a very critical measurement, we call it the orbit determination process. If it is correct, the rest of the process can be done," Somanath told PTI here.

Russia is set to launch its first lunar landing spacecraft in nearly half a century on August 11.

The Luna-25 mission, which will take off from the Vostochny cosmodrome, is part of an international race to explore the moon's south pole, a region believed to hold significant quantities of ice that could potentially support future human habitation.

The launch comes just four weeks after India's Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander was sent into space, with an expected touchdown at the lunar south pole on August 23.

Chandrayaan-3 is progressing smoothly and is in good health, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S. Somnath.

In a recent update, he confirmed that the spacecraft is functioning as expected and is on track for its scheduled landing on the Moon on August 23.

"Chandrayaan-3 is going very well. Last night we had an orbit reduction in the moon's orbit from something like 18,000 kilometres to around 4,600 kilometres and 165 kilometers at its closest point to the Moon. Subsequently, it will again come down as there will be some more maneuvers until it lands on August 23. So everything is going fine now. Satellite is healthy," Somnath said.

After intercepting the Moon on August 5, Chandrayaan-3 is looping around Earth's next-door cosmic neighbour ahead of the planned soft-landing.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has announced that the spacecraft will, now through successive moon-bound maneuvers, gradually lower its orbit around the Moon, before the Propulsion Module separates from the lander-rover combination.

The moon-bound maneuvers began late Sunday night, as Chandrayaan-3 successfully underwent a planned orbit reduction maneuver, bringing it closer to the moon's surface.  READ MORE HERE

Isro has released the first footage of Chandrayaan-3 intercepting the Moon. The spacecraft has entered lunar orbit and its altitude is slowly being reduced ahead of landing approach at the end of this month. 

Isro has said that now that the spacecraft is in lunar orbit, the next challenge will be to reduce its orbit gradually. "The next operation - reduction of orbit – is scheduled for Aug 6, 2023, around 23:00 Hrs. IST," Isro said. 

Isro has placed Chandrayaan-3 in the Moon's orbit. The Indian space agency performed a precise engine burn to put the spacecraft around the Moon. 

Chandrayaan-3 has begun the process of inserting itself into orbit around the Moon. The engines have been fired after Isro sent the commands at 7 pm. The engines will remain on for nearly 28-30 minutes to be grabbed by the moon's gravity. 

Chandrayaan-3 is set to undertake a daring maneuver shortly - the lunar orbit insertion (LOI) - an essential step to achieve its mission objectives. This milestone will signify a significant advancement for the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and its lunar exploration endeavours. 

The lunar orbit insertion aims to capture Chandrayaan-3 in an orbit around the Moon, allowing the spacecraft to conduct vital scientific observations and gather data to enhance our understanding of Earth's celestial neighbour. This maneuver follows the trajectory laid out by the Chandrayaan-2 mission, which adds to the confidence in its success. 

Similar to Chandrayaan-2, the LOI maneuver is expected to last between 29 to 30 minutes. During this time, Chandrayaan-3 will be precisely guided into an elliptical orbit around the Moon, positioning the spacecraft for its next phase of lunar exploration.

The success of Chandrayaan-3's lunar orbit insertion will pave the way for further exploration and scientific investigation, as it endeavors to unravel the mysteries of the Moon's surface and geology. It represents a testament to India's growing prowess in space technology and adds to the nation's achievements in lunar exploration.

Upon landing, the Chandrayaan-3 mission will operate for one lunar day, equivalent to 14 Earth days. This is because one day on the Moon is equal to 14 days on Earth. While the mission is designed for a 14-day duration, it is possible that it could surpass this timeframe. The mission features a lunar lander and a rover that will spend these 14 days carrying out scientific activities on the lunar surface. 

India's third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, is set to make a significant maneuver in its journey today. The spacecraft is scheduled to enter the lunar orbit at 7 pm, marking a crucial phase in this ambitious mission.

Launched on July 14, 2023, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Chandrayaan-3 has been on a steady course towards the moon.

The Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI), planned for today, will see the spacecraft embedded in an orbit around the moon, a maneuver that will be performed from ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru.

Upon landing, the rover will embark on a 14-day mission, during which it will conduct groundbreaking experiments using its payloads RAMBHA and ILSA. These experiments are designed to provide scientists with a better understanding of the moon's atmosphere and mineral composition. The rover is also equipped with the LASER Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) and the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS), which will analyze the chemical composition of the lunar surface, rocks, and soil.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has announced that Chandrayaan-3, India's third lunar mission, has successfully covered two-thirds of its journey to the moon. As of August 4, the spacecraft has traversed approximately 2.6 lakh kilometers, marking a significant milestone in its lunar expedition.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has confirmed that the spacecraft's health is normal and it has successfully completed a crucial perigee burn, raising its orbit to 288 km x 369328 km, after leaving Earth at midnight on August 1. 

India launched its ambitious Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon on July 14. After successfully completing its fifth orbit-raising maneuver, the spacecraft completed the orbits around the Earth on Tuesday, August 1.