Jennifer Doudna

“Thanks for the ride, mate! said the Lander Module (LM). LM is successfully separated from the Propulsion Module (PM). LM is set to descend to a slightly lower orbit upon a deboosting planned for tomorrow around 1600 Hrs., IST,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) tweeted.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft comprises a propulsion module (weighing 2,148 kg), lander (1,723.89 kg) and a rover (26 kg). The main purpose of India’s third moon mission is to land the lander softly on the moon. The Chandrayaan-2 mission failed as the lander called Vikram crashed on to the moon.

The spacecraft has moved further closer to the moon.

On a 41-day voyage to the uncharted southern pole of the Moon where no other country has gone before, Chandrayaan-3 effectively achieved lunar orbit entry on  Saturday. Chandrayaan-3 successfully entered the lunar orbit 22 days after its launch.

According to an ISRO official, the firing of the onboard motors began at about 7.15 p.m. and the spacecraft was steered towards the moon orbit. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), in a tweet, said: "MOX, ISTRAC, this is Chandrayaan-3, I am feeling lunar gravity."

"Chandrayaan-3 completes its orbits around the earth and heads towards the moon. A successful perigee-firing performed at ISTRAC, ISRO has injected the spacecraft into the translunar orbit. Next stop: the Moon. As it arrives at the moon, the Lunar-Orbit Insertion (LOI) is planned for August 5, 2023," ISRO tweeted.

The success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission will make India the fourth country in the world to land and ride on the Moon's surface after the US, Russia, and China. India launched its first Moon mission Chandrayaan-1 in October 2008 using its light rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the second mission on July 22, 2019 with the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mk III now renamed as LVM3.

On August 1, the Chandrayaan-3 will take the 'moon spaceway’ when the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will guide it to the TransLunar Injection (TLI). On Tuesday, the ISRO said: "The orbit-raising maneuver (Earth-bound perigee firing) is performed successfully from ISTRAC/ISRO, Bengaluru. The spacecraft is expected to attain an orbit of 127609 km x 236 km. The achieved orbit will be confirmed after the observations."

The third orbit-raising maneuver (Earth-bound perigee firing) was performed successfully from ISTRAC/ISRO, Bengaluru. The next firing is planned for July 20, 2023, between 2 and 3 pm IST, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.

Leading this important mission is India's very own rocket woman, Ritu Karidhal Shrivastava and she has her roots in Lucknow. Shrivastava is an ISRO scientist. She is the mission director of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. She is a native of Lucknow though her family no longer lives here.