NewDelhi: The separation of the Vikram Lander from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter will take place on Monday, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The event is scheduled to commence between 12.45 pm to 13. 45 pm (IST). Following this, there will be two deorbit manoeuvres of the Vikram Lander to prepare for its landing in the south polar region of the moon.
As per the tentative plan the first deorbit will take place on Tuesday between 9 am and 10 am and the second one on Wednesday between 3 pm and 4 pm. The powered descent will occur on September 7 followed by the Vikram Touch Down on the same day between 1.30 pm and 2.30 pm.
The final manoeuvre of Chandrayaan 2 happened on Sunday evening. ISRO chairman Dr K Sivan has noted that the parameters of the orbiter, lander, rover are in good condition.
It may be recalled that the fourth Lunar bound orbit manoeuvre for Chandrayaan-2 was performed successfully on Friday using the onboard propulsion system of the spacecraft. The duration of the manoeuvre was 1155 seconds.
Chandrayaan-2 managed to successfully enter the Moon’s orbit on the morning of August 20 and ISRO had later released a statement confirming the Lunar Orbit Insertion of Chandrayaan-2 at 9:02 am.
Chandrayaan 2 was launched from Satish Dhawan space centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh by India`s heavy-lift rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV Mk III) on July 22. The successful launch was carried out exactly a week after the ISRO had aborted the launch on July 15, just 56 minutes before the launch due to a “technical snag”.
The success of this mission will make India only the “fourth nation after the United States, China, and Russia to make a soft-landing on the lunar surface and the first nation to do so on the south pole of the lunar surface.
The mission includes four components: a GSLV Mk-III, an orbiter, a lander; and the small rover.
Bureau Report
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