The second de-orbiting manoeuvre for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully early on Wednesday, ISRO said, ready to land close to the lunar south pole.
“The second de-orbiting manoeuvre for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully today (September 04, 2019) beginning at 0342 hrs IST as planned, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of the manoeuvre was 9 seconds,” ISRO said.
The orbit of Vikram Lander is 35 km x 101 km.
“Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter continues to orbit the Moon in an orbit of 96 km x 125 km and both the Orbiter and Lander are healthy,” it said.
“With this manoeuvre, the required orbit for the Vikram Lander to commence it descent towards the surface of the Moon is achieved,” ISRO said.
“The Lander is scheduled to powered descent between 0100 – 0200 hrs IST on September 07, 2019, which is then followed by touch down of Lander between 0130 – 0230 hrs IST,” it added.
