“The Moon, as viewed by Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft during Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) on August 5, 2023,” Isro said on Twitter.
The space agency will carry out Chandrayaan-3 first lunar-bound manoeuvre post LOI between 10.30pm and 11.30pm tonight (Sunday).
This comes a day after Isro successfully guided Chandrayaan-3 into a lunar orbit without a glitch, marking a major milestone for India’s third lunar mission.
“I am feeling lunar gravity,” was the first message that India’s third lunarcraft sent to the Isro after entering the Moon’s orbit that the space agency tweeted on Saturday. The spacecraft made the lunar orbit entry after escaping Earth’s gravity and covering a long distance of 384,400 km.
Saturday completed 22 days in Chandrayaan-3’s 40-day lunar journey since its launch onboard the LVM-3 on July 14 and the spacecraft’s health, being continuously monitored from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at the Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (Istrac) in Bengaluru with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Byalalu, near Bengaluru, is normal.
Watch India’s moon mission: ISRO releases first images of moon as viewed by Chandrayaan-3