Chandrayaan-3 successfully underwent a planned orbit reduction manoeuvre on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, bringing it closer to the Moon. In order to perform this operation, a retro-firing of engines was conducted.
Now, Chandrayaan-3 is in an orbit of 174 kilometres × 1437 kilometres, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a mission update. This was Chandrayaan-3’s third lunar-bound orbit manoeuvre.
Retro-firing allows a spacecraft to be pushed forward because its engines are burnt in a direction opposite to the way the spacecraft was fired.
After Chandrayaan-3 successfully performed its third lunar-bound orbit manoeuvre, the spacecraft’s official X (formally Twitter) account wrote: “Getting ever closer to the Moon!”
The next orbit reduction manoeuvre will take place on August 14, 2023, between 11:30 am to 12:30 am IST.
On August 6, ISRO shared stunning views of the Moon captured by Chandrayaan-3.
