Big day for India as Chandrayaan-3 successfully enters lunar orbit

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, which covered about two-thirds of the distance to the Moon
since its launch, successfully entered into the Lunar orbit on Saturday, according to ISRO.

“MOX, ISTRAC, this is Chandrayaan-3. I am feeling lunar gravity,” Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) tweeted.

"Chandrayaan-3 has been successfully inserted into the lunar orbit. A retro-burning at the
Perilune was commanded from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX), ISTRAC, Bengaluru.

The next operation - reduction of orbit – is scheduled for Aug 6, 2023, around 23:00 Hrs.
IST," ISRO added.

Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar exploration mission, was launched on GSLV Mark 3 (LVM
3) heavy-lift launch vehicle successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra
Pradesh’s Sriharikota on July 14.

Notably, this is the fourth country after the US, China, and Russia, that landed its spacecraft on
the surface of the moon and demonstrate the country’s ability for a safe and soft landing on the
lunar surface.

Upon landing, it will operate for one lunar day, which is approximately 14 Earth days. One day
on the Moon is equal to 14 days on Earth