Published: August 7, 2023 4:53 am
Author: RT
The footage was taken on approach ahead of the planned landing later this month
India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft has accomplished its first Moon-bound orbit reduction maneuver, following the successful orbit insertion a day earlier, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Sunday.
A video shared by the Chandrayaan-3 team on Twitter/X shows spectacular views of the Moon that were captured by the spacecraft’s on-board camera during the insertion burn.
The next operation to further reduce the orbit is scheduled for August 9. After the de-orbiting maneuvers, the spacecraft will attempt a soft landing on the Moon’s surface on August 23.
The Moon, as viewed by #Chandrayaan3 spacecraft during Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) on August 5, 2023.#ISRO pic.twitter.com/xQtVyLTu0c
— LVM3-M4/CHANDRAYAAN-3 MISSION (@chandrayaan_3) August 6, 2023
Chandrayaan-3, the third Indian lunar exploration mission, was launched on July 14 and is aimed at landing softly on the Moon’s surface.
READ MORE: India’s Moon rush: the lowdown on the top scientists making New Delhi’s ambitions fly
If the mission is successful, India will have become the fourth country to have achieved a soft lunar landing, joining the US, the Soviet Union and China. It will also have the unique distinction to be the first nation to land at the lunar south pole.
