Chandrayaan-2 Successfully Completes First Orbit-Raising Manoeuvre, To Reach Moon By 20 August: ISRO

The Chandryaan-2 lunar module successfully completed its first orbit raising manoeuvre on Wednesday afternoon (24 July), India Today has reported.

The orbit raising manoeuvre was carried out with the help of on-board propulsion system which place Chandrayaan-2 on a higher orbit around the earth. The propulsion system was fired up for 57 seconds for performing this movement which took place at 2.57 PM.

In total, a series of 15 critical manoeuvres would be performed to help Chandrayaan-2 reach the moon out of which five manoeuvres would be carried out before the trans-lunar injection is performed on 14 August. This injection would set the spacecraft on a trajectory towards the moon.

Currently Chandrayaan-2 is orbiting around the earth in an elliptical orbit with its nearest and farthest points from the centre of the earth being 230 km and 45,163 km respectively.

The spacecraft is expected to reach the moon by 20 August but a soft landing won’t be attempted before 7 September.