Chandrayaan-2 narrows gap from Moon

ISRO said it performed a nearly 20-minute third orbit action on the spacecraft which had been orbiting the moon since August 20.

Chandrayaan-2 narrowed its distance from the Moon after a  manoeuvre on Wednesday morning.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said it completed the third orbit action lasting nearly 20 minutes to bring the spacecraft closer to the Moon. It was done from the Mission Operations Complex at ISTRAC in Bengaluru.

An update on Day 38 of the launch said, “The third lunar-bound orbit manoeuvre of Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully today (August 28) beginning at 0904 hours IST using the onboard propulsion system. All spacecraft parameters are normal.”

A total of five manoeuvres are planned to gradually make the lunar craft's oval orbit circular. It now goes around the Moon in a 179 km x 1,412 km orbit - shifting about 3,000 km closer to its target at the far end of the oval. It is due to reach the desired circular orbit after two more orbit reducing operations - on August 30 and September 1.

Launched on July 22, Chandrayaan-2 has been in lunar orbits since August 20. It is due to land on the Moon’s surface in the early hours of September 7, 48 days after it was launched from Sriharikota.