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Another milestone achieved, says PM Modi as ISRO brings Chandrayaan-3 home
- Aero in
- Dec 8, 2023
- 1 min read
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for moving the Propulsion Module of Chandrayaan-3 from the Moon's orbit to the orbit of Earth. Reacting to the news by Isro, PM Modi said, "Another technology milestone achieved in our future space endeavours including our goal to send an Indian to Moon by 2040."
Isro's groundbreaking manoeuvre is being considered a follow-up to the hop experiment on the Vikram Lander. The intricate operation marked a significant milestone in space exploration and showcased Isro's commitment to advancing lunar mission capabilities as it plans to mount bigger missions in the future.
Chandryaan-3's Vikram Lander made a historic touchdown on the Moon's South Pole on August 23, over a month after the spacecraft was launched. Pointing out the primary responsibility of the mission, Isro had said, "The primary objective of Chandrayaan-3 mission was to demonstrate a soft landing near to the lunar South Pole region and perform experiments using the instruments on Vikram and Pragyaan."
For the Propulsion Module, the main objective was to ferry the lander module from the Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) to the final lunar polar circular orbit and separate the lander, it said.
Following this, the Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) payload within the Propulsion Module was activated.
Although the SHAPE payload was intended to function for approximately three months, the efficient orbit injection and burn maneuvers left the Propulsion Module with over 100 kg of surplus fuel after a month in lunar orbit.
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