"Feeling Lunar Gravity": Chandrayaan 3 enters moon orbit

New Delhi : After TWENTY-THREE days since its departure from Earth, Chandrayaan-3, the Indian spacecraft on a mission to achieve the first soft landing on the moon, successfully entered the lunar orbit on Saturday evening, marking another significant achievement in its voyage.

Having traveled towards the moon for the past five days after breaking free from its earth-bound orbit, the spacecraft has now commenced its circular path around the moon.

On Saturday evening, ISRO tweeted, "MOX, ISTRAC, this is Chandrayaan-3. I am experiencing lunar gravity," capturing the moment when the spacecraft likely transmitted an electronic signal to the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network (ISTRAC).

Currently, the spacecraft is in an elliptical orbit around the moon, with its farthest point being 18,074 km from the lunar surface and its nearest point at 164 km. Over the next few days, the orbit altitude will be gradually decreased, aiming to achieve a circular orbit of 100 km x 100 km, which will facilitate the final descent on the lunar surface planned for around August 23. The initial altitude reduction maneuver is scheduled for Sunday.

In a statement, ISRO confirmed that Chandrayaan-3 is in good health and operating normally.