Vikram lander successfully lands on Moon; India becomes 4th country to make soft landing on lunar surface

New Delhi, 23/8: The Lander Module (LM) of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) third lunar mission Chandrayaan-3, launched on July 14, has succesfully landed on Moon on August 23. The LM is propelling towards the moon surface in the intended trajectory, the space organisation said.

On August 18, the ISRO successfully performed the first deboosting operation that reduced its orbit to 113 km x 157 km. This was performed the day after the lander module separated from the propulsion module after a 34-day long journey towards the Moon. On August 20, the ISRO performed the second and final deebost of the Lander Module to reduce the Lander Module to 25 km x 134 km.

Lander, with Rover in its belly, is in 25 km x 134 km orbit. It is set to land on the Moon on August 23 around 6.04 p.m. IST. Powered descent is expected to commence around 5.45 p.m.

A day before the crucial soft landing of the Chandrayaan-3 Lander Module on the Moon surface, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said that the mission is on schedule. “The mission is on schedule. Systems are undergoing regular checks. Smooth sailing is continuing. The Mission Operations Complex (MOX) is buzzed with energy & excitement!” the ISRO posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter