ISRO has shared a video of the Moon being put into lunar orbit by the Chandrayaan 3 mission. During the Earth phase of the mission, Chandrayaan 3 left Earth forever and jumped to the Moon on August 1.
The spacecraft came close to the Moon on August 5 and performed a burn to put itself into lunar orbit. Video shared by ISRO was recorded during this exercise. The spacecraft will now perform a series of maneuvers to reduce altitude, eventually reaching a circular orbit at 100 kilometers above the lunar surface. At this point, the main task of the propulsion module is complete.
The method used by ISRO allows the organization to save fuel and keep the cost of its planetary science exploration program low. This is the fourth mission that ISRO has carried out in orbit around another object in the solar system. ISRO has previously sent two missions to the Moon, Chandrayaan and Chandrayaan 2, as well as a Mars Orbiter or Mangalyaan mission to Mars. Demonstrating the ability to perform soft landings on the lunar surface opens up options for ISRO's future exploration of extraterrestrial surfaces.
After the propulsion module has put the spacecraft into a circular orbit at an altitude of 100 km, it will separate from the spacecraft. However, the propulsion module will continue to orbit the Moon, observe the Earth with a single payload on board, and act as a relay to transmit signals from the lunar surface to ISRO stations on the ground. The Chandrayaan 2 orbiter, still orbiting the Moon, could be used as a backup relay if needed. If the rest of the mission goes nominally, the earliest ISRO could land on the lunar surface is August 23.
