Chandrayaan-3 covers two-thirds of the distance to Moon

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft has covered about two-thirds of the distance to the Moon since its launch on July 14, 2023. ISRO shared a graphic on Twitter on August 4, 2023, showing the spacecraft's progress.

The Lunar Orbit Injection LOI is set for around 7 pm on August 5, the Bengaluru-headquartered national space agency said on Friday.The manoeuvre will be performed when Chandrayaan-3 is at the closest point to the Moon perilune, as per ISRO.

Once the spacecraft is in orbit around the Moon, it will undergo a series of tests to ensure that it is ready for landing. The soft landing is scheduled for August 23, 2023.

Chandrayaan-3 is India's third lunar mission. The first two missions, Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2, were both successful. Chandrayaan-1 was launched in 2008 and it orbited the Moon for a year. Chandrayaan-2 was launched in 2019 and it successfully landed a rover on the Moon. However, the lander crashed during its final descent.

Chandrayaan-3 is expected to make significant contributions to our understanding of the Moon. The spacecraft will carry a number of scientific instruments, including a spectrometer, a camera, and a magnetometer. These instruments will be used to study the Moon's surface, its atmosphere, and its magnetic field.

The successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 will be a major milestone for India's space program. It will demonstrate India's capabilities in space exploration and it will pave the way for future lunar missions.