Way far closer to the orb of night! Vikram Lander Successfully separates from Chandrayaan-2 orbiter

New Delhi, September 02: After a successful performance of the fifth and the final orbit manoeuvre to refine its circular path around the moon, the Vikram Lander successfully has separated from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter at 1315 hrs today.

 

“The Vikram Lander is currently located in an orbit of 119 km x 127 km. The Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter continues to orbit the Moon in its existing orbit”, the statement issued by ISRO read.

The team of researchers and scientists is meanwhile continuously busy monitoring the health of the Orbiter and Lander from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Bylalu, near Bengaluru.

“All the systems of Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter and Lander are healthy”, the statement added. The next operation that is the separation of the lander Vikram from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter, the powered descent of the lander will be initiated early on September 7, resulting in its much-awaited soft-landing on the near-South Pole of the moon.

 

India has prior experience of deploying orbiters around celestial bodies, the first one around the moon in the form of Chandrayaan-1 and the other one around the Mars in the form of Mangalyaan, though the configurations are different. However, this is the first time a lander is going to be deployed along with a rover after their indigenous development.