Chandrayaan-3 Lander on the Moon | Updates

With Vikram, the lander module of Chandrayaan-3, successfully landing on the surface of moon on Wednesday, the focus has now moved to the rover in its belly, Pragyan.

The officials at the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network (ISTRAC) readied to roll out the rover, which will carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface during the course of its mobility.

After Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed on the Moon’s surface, making India the first to land near the Moon’s South Pole, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the ISRO team.

“On the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3, I would like to congratulate team ISRO and every Indian. Many congratulations for making the country ‘Chandramauli’. This is new India whose arms extend from Mars to the Moon,” Singh said while talking to ANI.

He further said that ISRO scientists have told the world that ‘Chanda Mama’ is no longer far away from us.

“India has added a golden chapter in the history of space exploration with the landing of Vikram Lander on the south pole of the Moon,” he added.

- ANI

With the Pragyaan rover poised to navigate the moon, its eyes to traverse the crater-filled lunar surface are powered by a software developed by a Noida-based tech start-up.

Omnipresent Robot Technologies, which has been working closely with ISRO for the Chandrayaan series of lunar missions, has developed Perception Navigation Software for the Pragyaan rover that is housed in the Vikram landing module that touched down on the moon Wednesday evening.

“We are very excited and look forward to seeing the Pragyaan rover navigating the lunar surface using our software,” Aakash Sinha, Chief Executive Officer of Omnipresent Robot Technologies, told PTI here.

Sinha, who is also a professor at Shiv Nadar University, said the software developed by his start-up will capture images of the moon using the two cameras of the lunar rover and stitch them together to generate a 3-D map of the lunar landscape.

- PTI

The families of two ISRO scientists from Assam were ‘over the moon’ over the successful soft-landing of Chandrayaan-3 rover on the lunar surface.

The anxious family members of scientists Nidhi Sharma and Chayan Dutta of Tinsukia and Lakhimpur towns respectively cried tears of joy as the touchdown happened.

Both Sharma and Dutta were members of Chandrayaan 2 and 3 missions and were involved in the Landing Control Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at Sriharikota.

‘’Baba, we did it’‘ were the first words from Nidhi Sharma when she called up her father-in-law Deepak Dev and spoke to him for less than a minute.

‘’We were very tense and apprehensive as Chandrayaan-2 had failed in the last few seconds. She had called us then and expressed her disappointment. With the success of Chandrayaan-3, we are literally feeling ‘over the moon’ and I have no words to express our joy,” Dev told PTI.

- PTI

As India scripted history on Wednesday, with the Chandryaan-3 successfully performing a soft landing on the moon, the envoys of Israel, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Australia heaped congratulatory wishes.

Israeli envoy, Naor Gilon congratulated India and ISRO for the achievement and said that it has made everyone “moonstruck”. “Heartiest congratulations to @isro and #India on the incredible success of #Chandrayaan3, becoming the first country to land on the Moon’s south pole! Your dedication to space exploration makes us all moonstruck,” Gilon said on X (formerly Twitter).

British High Commissioner Alex Ellis also congratulated India and said ‘Bhadhi Ho’.“A big moment for India for the world and…” Ellis wrote on X. “Badhai Ho”“Touchdown! Congratulations to India 🇮🇳 and@isroon making history with the successful #Chandrayaan3 mission - a giant step forward for the whole world,” the British High Commission said on X.

The French Embassy also congratulated the people of India calling it “soft landing in the history books”. “Soft landing in the history books Congratulations @isro & the people of India on the #Chandrayaan3 success! Through this landmark feat born of ingenuity and perseverance, India benefits all humankind’s space exploration endeavors,” the French Embassy stated on X.

German envoy to India, Philipp Ackermann also congratulated India calling it a “historic day”. “My heartfelt congratulations to India and Team @ISRO for the successful moon landing of #Chandrayaan3.What a historic day, not only for India, but also for the whole world!” Ackermann said on X.

Australian High Commissioner to India, Philip Green also congratulated India and that his whole team was watching the moment live. “What a triumph! Congratulations #India on #Chandrayaan3’s successful #MoonLanding! Our team watched with pride the final frontier of your #MoonMission,” Green wrote on X.

P. Palanivel, father of Chandrayaan-3 project director P Veeramuthuvel, on Wednesday celebrated the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 lander module on the moon’s South Pole and said that he is very happy and his son worked hard.

P Veeramuthuvel’s father watched Chandrayaan-3’s mission live feed from his Vilupuram home and cheered for the ISRO scientists for the successful landing on the Moon.

“Today Chandrayaan-3 very successfully landed. So this happiness goes to each and every person in India as well as Tamil Nadu. So I am very very happy. My son worked hard. As a father, I am sharing the happiness with you. I am very happy,” Chandrayaan-3 project director P Veeramuthuvel’s father told ANI.

Chandrayaan 3’s soft-landing achieved, the rover module will now embark on its 14-day assignment to carry out the tasks mandated by the ISRO scientists.

Its duties include experiments to further understand the lunar surface.

According to ISRO, Lander and the Rover have five scientific payloads which have been placed inside the Lander Module (LM).

Rover’s Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) will be used to derive the chemical composition and infer mineralogical composition to further enhance the understanding of the lunar surface.

Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) will determine the elemental composition of the lunar soil and rocks around the Moon’s landing site.

The deployment of Rover to carry out in-situ scientific experiments would scale new heights in lunar expeditions, ISRO said.

- PTI

The entire mission operations of Chandrayaan-3, right from the launch till landing, “happened flawlessly” as per the timeline, the team that led India’s third mission to the Moon said on Wednesday.

They credited the combined effort of the entire team during the past four years for the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.

“It’s a great moment of happiness. On behalf of the team it gives me immense satisfaction on achieving this goal as the Project Director of the mission. The entire mission operations right from launch till landing happened flawlessly as per the timeline,” Project Director of Chandrayaan-3 P Veeramuthuvel said.

Addressing the Chandrayaan-3 team at the Mission Operations Complex, he said India has become the fourth country to demonstrate soft landing on the Moon’s surface and the first country to arrive at the south pole region of the Moon.

Thanking the navigation guidance and control team, propulsion team, sensors team and all the mainframe subsystems teams, who have brought success to the mission, Veeramuthuvel also expressed his gratitude to the critical operations review committee for thoroughly reviewing the mission operations right from launch till date.

“The target was on spot, because of the review process,” he said, as he acknowledged the contribution of Chandrayaan-3 project executives working across various ISRO centres.

- PTI

Congratulating India on the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 Lander, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a message to President Murmu, said: “Please, accept my heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of the successful landing of the Indian space station Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon near its South Pole.

This is a big step forward in space exploration and certainly a testament to the impressive progress made by India in the area of science and technology.

Kindly convey my sincere congratulations and best wishes for new achievements to the leadership and staff of the Indian Space Research Organization”

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov congratulated Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar when he met him on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday congratulated the teams of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 lander module on the moon’s South Pole, and said that it is the result of decades of tremendous ingenuity and hard work by the scientific community.

“Congratulations to Team ISRO for today’s pioneering feat. Chandrayaan 3’s soft landing on the uncharted lunar South Pole is the result of decades of tremendous ingenuity and hard work by our scientific community. Since 1962, India’s space program has continued to scale new heights and inspire generations of young dreamers,” Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

- ANI

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Russia’s Roscosmos space agency on Wednesday congratulated India for successfully landing a spacecraft on the Moon’s south pole, days after Moscow’s own mission crashed.

“Roscosmos congratulates Indian colleagues on the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3,” Roscosmos said in a statement. “Exploration of the Moon is important for the whole of humanity, in the future it may become a platform for the deeper mastering of space.”

- AFP

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Wednesday hailed as a “historic achievement” the landing of Chandrayaan-3 on Moon’s south pole and congratulated team ISRO on the feat.

The CJI told PTI that the success of the lunar mission places India in a select group of nations that have successfully achieved soft landing on the lunar surface.

“It is with immense pride as a citizen of our great nation that I witnessed the remarkable landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon today,” he said.

“It is all the more significant because India is the only nation to have achieved the lunar landing on the south pole of the Moon.

This will help new avenues and scientific research and discovery. Truly, this lunar landing represents a milestone in the onward march of our nation,” he said.

- PTI

As Chandrayaan-3 achieved a soft landing on the South Pole of the moon, making India the first country to reach that particular area, former ISRO chief K Sivan on Wednesday said that it is sweet news, for which they have been waiting for the last four years.

“We are really excited to see this grand success. For this, we have been waiting for the last four years. This success is sweet news for us and for the entire nation,” K Sivan said.

Sivan was the chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at the time of the Chandrayaan-2 mission, launched in 2019.

Responding to Chandrayaan-3’s success, Sivan said that the Central government is also with us and they also will be happy to see this happy moment.On the world, closely watching this mission, he said, “Chandrayaan-3’s science data is not only for India, it is for the global scientists.”

“The scientists will use this data globally to discover new things from it,” he added.

- ANI

Current and former India cricketers on Wednesday celebrated the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3’s lunar module on the moon’s surface, hailing the feat as “historic” and “extraordinary”.

In a video shared by the BCCI, the Indian team was seen celebrating while following on TV the updates of the landing of the lunar module, just a couple of hours before their final T20I against Ireland in Dublin.

India became the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the moon and first on its south pole.

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar hailed ISRO for the extraordinary achievement.

“@ISRO represents the best of India. Humble, hardworking women & men, coming together, overcoming challenges, and making our tricolour fly high,” he wrote.

“India must celebrate and congratulate the Chandrayaan-2 team, which was led by Shri K Sivan, along with Shri S Somanath’s #Chandrayaan3 team. Every hard landing has lessons which take us closer to a soft landing - on the moon, and in life,” he added.

Star batter Virat Kohli wrote on X, “Many congratulations to the #Chandrayaan3 team. You have made the nation proud.. Jai Hind!” “History. Congratulations @isro for this extraordinary accomplishment. #JaiHind,” wrote spin stalwart Ravichandran Ashwin.

India became the first nation to successfully land a craft on the Moon’s south pole on August 23, the latest milestone in a renewed push for lunar exploration that has drawn in both the world’s top space powers and new players.

Here is the latest on various missions to the celestial body...

Congratulating ISRO scientists on the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon, President Droupadi Murmu said it is a momentous occasion which has made India proud.

In a video message after watching the live-telecast of Moon landing, the President said scientists have made history with the landing of Chandrayaan-3 which is an event that happens once in lifetime .

“I congratulate ISRO, everybody involved in the Chandrayaan-3 mission and wish them greater accomplishments ahead,” she said. PTI

Leading scientists and experts said this monumental accomplishment not only marks India’s indelible imprint on lunar exploration but also demonstrates the prowess of human collaboration, determination, and cutting-edge technology.

Dr. Chrisphin Karthick, a scientist at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru, expressed his elation. “The successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 is a testament to our collective progress towards space travel. It showcases the beauty of unity in diversity as we sail the cosmic seas together.”

Aakash Sinha, Professor of Practice at the Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, Delhi-NCR, and CEO of Omnipresent Robot Tech, hailed ISRO’s (Indian Space Research Organisation) feat as a “monumental achievement” that will inspire a new generation of aspiring scientists and explorers. “With this unparalleled accomplishment, India has etched its name in history by becoming the first country to land in this lunar region,” Mr. Sinha, who was involved in developing the software for the Pragyan rover of Chandrayaan-3.

Astrophysicist Sandip Chakraborty noted that the significance of Chandrayaan-3’s soft landing cannot be overstated. “Soft landing is a start for future activities, such as science of the Moon and from the Moon. It is a gateway to the outer world,” the director of the Indian Centre for Space Physics, Kolkata, said. - PTI

An exuberant West Bengal Chief Minister took to X, formerly called Twitter, to “Hail Chandrayaan 3” and the country’s scientific community for the successful landing by India’s moon craft, while her counterpart in Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, termed it a “historic day”.

From Ranchi, Jharkhand’s Chief Minister Hemant Soren said “Adbhut!! Avismaraniya!!” (Wonderful!! Unforgettable!!).

Assam Chief Minister Himant Biswa Sarma who was watching the landing at a school in Guwahati, tweeted “Another giant leap for humanity!”, taking a leaf out of astronaut Neil Armstrong’s famous statement after becoming the first man to step on the Moon in 1969. - PTI

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Godrej & Boyce, the two companies that supplied equipment and materials for India’s mission to the moon, congratulated the ISRO on August 23 after Chandrayaan-3 made a successful soft landing on the lunar surface.

“Our shared journey of over five decades with ISRO symbolizes the relentless pursuit of innovation and excellence in technology. Today’s achievement is a testament to India’s prowess in space research and our nation’s determination to carve a niche on the global frontier. We’re immensely proud to have been a part of this monumental mission,” S.N. Subrahmanyan, CEO and MD of L&T said in a statement.

Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman and Managing Director, Godrej & Boyce said, “This achievement stands as a testament to India’s remarkable advancements in space exploration and technology. We will not just be the fourth nation worldwide to attain this milestone but will also be pioneers in demonstrating a soft landing on the moon’s south pole. We celebrate this moment with great enthusiasm and look forward to continued contributions to the nation’s journey of scientific excellence and progress. This success reinforces our belief in the power of indigenous manufacturing and our contribution to pushing the boundaries of technological innovation.”

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday hailed the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar surface and said with this, India became the first nation to touch the south pole of the Moon.

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal joined the country in congratulating the scientists of ISRO on the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3’s lunar module on the moon’s surface on Wednesday and called it a “historical” moment.

“This is historical. It is a big achievement for the country. It is a matter of pride for all of us. Many congratulations to all the countrymen, scientists, engineers and employees of ISRO for the success of Chandrayaan-3. Bharat Mata Ki Jai,” the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener said in a post on X. - PTI

As Vikram lander made a successful soft landing near the Moon’s south pole, the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the “success of Chandrayaan-3 is collective success of every Indian”.

“ISRO’s achievement reflects saga of continuity, is truly fantastic, matter of pride that entire world looking up to ISRO,” the Congress party said. - PTI

Congratulating the team ISRO for the remarkable feat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India’s solar mission Aditya L1 will be launched soon and there are also plans to send a mission to Venus.

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Joining ISRO scientists via video conferencing from South Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it is a “historic day for India’s space sector”. “Like our scientists said, India is on the Moon now,” the Prime Minister said.

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The Vikram lander has made a successful soft landing on the lunar surface. India becomes only the fourth country after the erstwhile USSR, USA and China.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in South Africa for the BRICS summit, joined the landing of Chandrayaan-3 via video conferencing from Johannesburg.

The performance of the Lander Module (LM) of Chandrayaan-3 in the rough braking phase is nominal, the ISRO said. The velocity of the LM has been constantly coming down, the space organisation said.

The powered descent of the Lander Module (LM) of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) third lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 has begun. The lander module is propelling towards the moon surface in the intended trajectory, the space organisation said.

The primary landing site of the Chandrayaan-3 lander is located at 69.367621°S latitude and 32.348126°E longitude. This is in the South Polar region of the moon.

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A mission to study the Sun, and launching a climate observation satellite, a test vehicle as part of Gaganyaan human space flight programme and an Indo-US synthetic aperture radar — ISRO has a packed schedule following the highly anticipated landing of Chandrayaan-3 Lander.

In addition, XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite), the country’s first dedicated polarimetry mission to study various dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources in extreme conditions, is also ready for launch, an ISRO official said on Tuesday.

Aditya-L1, the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun, is getting ready for the launch, most likely in September first week.

According to ISRO Chairman, Somanath S, the space agency has also lined up the launch of a climate observation satellite INSAT-3DS.

The launch of a test vehicle mission, for the validation of the crew escape system for Gaganyaan, the country’s maiden human space flight mission, is also expected soon.

Read more.

NASA’s Canberra DSN antennae DSS36 and DSS34 are tracking Chandrayaan-3. European Space Agency’s New Norcia antenna in Australia will be used for tracking and telemetry when the lander is descending. The primary tracking and telemetry antennae is operated by ISRO in Bengaluru.

The DSS 34 and 36 antennae are visible here receiving signals from Chandrayaan-3 (designated “CH3”).

India’s previous attempt to land on the lunar south pole failed in 2019.

Chandrayaan-2 successfully deployed an orbiter but its lander and rover were destroyed in a crash near where Chandrayaan-3 will attempt a touchdown.

Rough terrain is one of the complications for a south pole landing. ISRO scientists say they have made adjustments that make it more likely the current mission will land successfully. That includes a system to broaden the potential landing zone. The lander has also been equipped with more fuel and sturdier legs for impact.

Russia’s first moon mission in 47 years failed over the weekend when its Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon.

A private Japanese space startup, ispace, failed an attempted lunar landing in April. - Reuters

Since the launch of the Chandrayaan-3 mission on July 14, the ground stations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have been supporting Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to monitor the spacecraft’s health.

“Since the launch of Chandrayaan-3, ESA has been supporting the mission by utilising two of the ground stations in the ESTRACK network to track the satellite in its orbit, receive telemetry from the spacecraft and forward it to the Mission Operations Centre in Bengaluru, and forward commands sent from Bengaluru to the flying satellite,” Ramesh Chellathurai, ground operations engineer at ESOC Darmstadt, Germany told The Hindu.

Read more.

At T-2 hours, that is 3.45 p.m., ISRO was expected to perform a final assessment of the lander module and landing conditions. In case any condition is unfavourable today, ​ISRO plans to make another landing attempt on August 27​. After the assessment at 3.45 p.m., Powered descent of lander module is expected to begin at 5.44 p.m. IST and landing of Vikram lander will be attempted today.

There is feverish anticipation and excitement in India over the planned landing with prayers held in temples, mosques and churches, schools marshalling students to watch a live telecast of the event, and space enthusiasts organising parties to celebrate.

A successful mission would make India only the fourth country to successfully land on the moon, after the former USSR, the United States and China, and mark its emergence as a space power, just ahead of national elections next year. - Reuters

While Chandrayaan 3 has a complicated mission, a lot has gone into increasing the chances of its success, including how its instruments were built and tested. A journey through space – even as short as the one from earth to the moon – is an adventure in which the spacecraft’s own needs need to be balanced against the harsh demands of spaceflight.

Read more.

Former advisor to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Dr. Surendra Pal, said that he is confident just like the ISRO scientists that the Chandrayaan-3 mission will do much better because of several changes made after the Chandrayaan 2.

Hours before the soft landing of the Chandrayaan-3 lunar module, Dr. Surendra Pal said, “I am confident just like the ISRO scientists that we will do much better because a lot of changes have been done as compared to Chandrayaan 2”.

“...A lot of algorithms have been changed...Absolute calibration is done. The Lander has the capacity to hover. The landing area has been increased from 2.5 km to 4 km...” he said.

He said that more fuel has been put into the lander. “We are using Chandrayaan-2 orbiter. There are a lot of boulders and craters on the south pole of the moon. It is very rough,” he said. - ANI

National Conference leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah on Wednesday expressed hope that Chandrayaan-3 will successfully complete its journey to the moon later in the day.

“We are very hopeful that the journey of Chandrayaan-3 will be completely successful today. We are eagerly waiting for the pictures and videos from the part of the moon where no country has so far managed a softlanding.

“If the Chandrayaan landing is successful, which we are very hopeful of, we will join the elite league of countries that have managed this feat,” Omar Abdullah told reporters at the party office in Srinagar.

His father and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah also lauded “our scientists” for doing “yeoman’s service” to put India on the space map.

“I and all of us are proud of our scientists who have done a yeoman’s service to put India on the space map. Congratulations to everyone,” Farooq Abdullah said.

Remembering former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, “who was a pillar in all these things”, he said India has progressed tremendously in the space sector ever since he was elected to the top constitutional post.

“I think the last mission failed because something went wrong. This time, I am sure we have overcome those difficulties and soon Chandrayaan-3 will be on the moon. We are looking forward to space travel soon by an Indian rocket to the moon and also Mars in the future,” Farooq Abdullah said.- PTI

Schools in Haryana will organise live streaming of the soft landing of ISRO’s moon mission Chandrayaan-3 today evening to inspire the students and boost their self-confidence, said state’s Education Minister Kanwar Pal. He said all district education officers in the State have been instructed to open the schools from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

“Students of schools in Haryana will watch Chandrayaan-3’s soft landing on the moon live. All district education officers have been instructed to open schools from 5 pm to 6 pm on Wednesday,” Mr. Pal said on X, formerly Twitter. - PTI

It is not only Tamil Nadu’s sons of the soil – former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Chandrayaan-2 Mission Director Mayilsamy Annadurai, and Chandrayaan-3 Project Director Veeramuthuvel P – who have contributed to ISRO missions, but literally the State’s soil itself.

Since 2012, Namakkal, which is about 400 km from the State capital Chennai, has supplied soil to ISRO for testing for the Chandrayaan Mission capability, as the earth in that district is similar to that of the lunar surface.

Read more.

ISRO is all set to initiate the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS). The space agency in an update said: “All set to initiate the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS). Awaiting the arrival of Lander Module (LM) at the designated point [at] around 5.44 Hrs. IST.”

ISRO added that upon receiving the ALS command, the LM activates the throttleable engines for powered descent.

“The mission operations team will keep confirming the sequential execution of commands,” the space agency added. Around 5.44 p.m., the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru, will initiate the powered descent of the lander module.

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July 14: LVM3 M4 vehicle successfully launches Chandrayaan-3 into orbit from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. Chandrayaan-3 starts its journey into precise orbit.

July 15: First orbit-raising manoeuvre (Earthbound firing-1) successfully performed from ISTRAC/ISRO, Bengaluru. The spacecraft is in 41762 km x 173 km orbit.

July 17: Second orbit-raising manoeuvre performed. Spacecraft is in 41603 km x 226 km orbit.

July 22: Another orbit-raising manoeuvre completed using earth-bound perigee firing.

July 25: ISRO performs one more orbit-raising manoeuvre. Spacecraft is in 71351 km x 233 km orbit.

August 1: ISRO performs Translunar Injection successfully and inserts the spacecraft into translunar orbit. Orbit achieved is 288 km x 369328 km.

August 5: Lunar-Orbit Insertion of Chandrayaan-3 performed successfully. Orbit achieved is 164 km x 18074 km, as intended.

August 6: ISRO performs second Lunar Bound Phase (LBN). With this, the spacecraft is in a 170 km x 4313 km orbit around the Moon. The space agency releases video of the Moon as viewed by Chandrayaan-3 during lunar orbit insertion.

August 9: Chandrayaan-3’s orbit is reduced to 174 km x 1437 km after a manoeuvre is performed.

August 14: Mission is in orbit circularisation phase after another manoeuvre. The spacecraft is in 151 km x 179 km orbit.

August 16: Spacecraft brought down to an orbit of 153 km x 163 km after firing is completed.

August 17: Lander module is successfully separated from the propulsion module.

August 19: ISRO performs de-boosting of the lander module to reduce its orbit. The lander module is in 113 km x 157 km orbit around the Moon.

August 20: One more de-boosting or orbit reduction manoeuvre on the lander module is performed. The lander module is in 25 km x 134 km orbit.

August 21: Chandrayaan-2 orbiter formally welcomes Chandrayaan-3 lander module saying ‘Welcome, buddy!’. Two-way communication between the two is established. Mission Operations Complex (MOX) now has more ways to communicate with the lander module.

August 22: ISRO releases images of the Moon captured by the Lander Position Detection Camera (LPDC) of the Chandrayaan-3 mission from an altitude of about 70 km. Systems are undergoing regular checks. Smooth sailing is continuing.

August 23: Safe and soft landing of Chandrayaan-3’s lander module on the southern pole of lunar surface expected at 6.04 p.m. - PTI