Chandrayaan-2, a day old in its orbit around the moon, has started undergoing phased manoeuvres to shorten the elliptical orbit in preparation for the September 7 landing.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on August 21 said it compressed the current elliptical orbit to 4,412 km at the far end from the moon. The orbit exercise was performed for about 20 minutes from 12.50 p.m. by firing the onboard motors.
At the other end, the spacecraft is 118 km away from the lunar surface. After the fourth manoeuvre, its orbit would become circular, according to the ISRO.
When it was inserted into the lunar orbit on August 20, the orbiter-cum-lander was going round the moon in an orbit of 114 km x 18,072 km.
The latest update said, “All spacecraft parameters are normal. The next lunar bound orbit manoeuvre is scheduled for August 28 between 5.30 a.m. and 6.30 a.m. IST.”
