Yesterday was a big day for India's Lunar Mission, Chandrayaan-3.

The spacecraft achieved another major milestone in its journey towards a soft landing on the Moon's south pole as the Lander Module, consisting of the lander Vikram and the rover Pragyan, was separated from the Propulsion Module.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said that after the separation, the lander is now expected to undergo a “deboost” (the process of slowing down) to position itself in an orbit where the Perilune (the orbit's closest point to the Moon) is 30 km and the Apolune (farthest point from the Moon) is 100 km. This is the point from which the attempt for a soft landing on the Moon's south polar region will be made. The Propulsion Module will continue its journey in the current orbit for months or even years.

The soft landing on the lunar surface is scheduled for 5.47 pm on August 23, making India the fourth country globally to achieve this feat after the United States, the erstwhile Soviet Union, and China.

The biggest challenge right now which stands with India as said by ISRO chairman S Somanath is is to make a horizontal ‘Vikram’ land vertically on the lunar surface. "The Chandrayaan is tilted 90 degrees, but it has to become vertical and the process of turning from horizontal to vertical is an interesting calculation," he had said earlier.

Source: HindustanTimes