Chandrayaan-2 enters into Lunar Orbit

The probe has been successfully maneuvered into lunar orbit today, after nearly 30 days of space travel.

Chandrayaan-2, India’s second lunar exploration mission, which launched successfully on 22nd July 2019, has entered lunar orbit on Tuesday. Now, the probe is executing one of the trickiest maneuvers on its historic mission to the Moon.

After nearly 30 days of space travel, the probe has completed its Lunar Orbit Insertion as planned into lunar orbit today. The insertion was completed successfully today at 0902 hrs IST (0332 GMT) as expected, utilizing the onboard propulsion system. The span of manoeuver was 1738 seconds.

ISRO Chairman K Sivan said, “The mission had achieved a milestone. Chandrayaan-2 mission crossed a major milestone today, the precise lunar orbit insertion maneuver was carried out at 9 am for about 30 minutes, and Chandrayaan 2 was precisely inserted in the defined orbit.”

To enter the final orbit over the lunar poles, Chandrayaan 2 will undergo four more similar maneuvers, with the next scheduled for Wednesday.

Sivan said, “The maneuver was a key milestone for the mission, adding he was hoping for a perfect landing next month. On September 7, the lander will land on the moon. Whatever is humanly possible, has been done by us.”

“Today’s insertion was one of the trickiest operations in the mission because if the satellite had approached the Moon at the higher velocity, it would have bounced off and got lost in deep space.”

“And had it approached at a slow velocity, the Moon’s gravity would have pulled it in, causing a crash.”

“Our heartbeats increased… for 30 minutes, our hearts almost stopped. The approach velocity had to be just right and the altitude over the moon precise. Even a small error would have killed the mission.”

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