The Chandrayaan-3 lander module is in 25 km x 134 km orbit. Powered descent is expected to commence on August 23, 2023, around 1745 Hrs. IST

The ISRO has said it successfully reduced the orbit of the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s Lander Module (LM), further bringing it nearer to the moon. It said, LM, comprising the lander ‘Vikram’ and rover ‘Pragyan’, is expected to touch down on the lunar surface on the 23rd of August evening.

The second and final de-boosting (slowing down) operation has successfully reduced the LM orbit to 25 km x 134 km. The module would undergo internal checks and await the sun-rise at the designated landing site. The powered descent is expected to commence on August 23, 2023, around 1745 Hrs IST, ISRO said in a post on 'X' (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.

The Lander Module of Chandrayaan-3 successfully separated from the Propulsion Module on Thursday, 35 days after the Mission was launched on the 14th of July. ISRO sources earlier said, that after the separation, the lander is expected to undergo “De-Boost” operations to place it in an orbit, where the Perilune is 30 kilometres and Apolune is 100 km, from where the soft landing on the south polar region of the Moon will be attempted.

Post its launch on the 14th of July, Chandrayaan-3 entered into the lunar orbit on the 5th of August, following which orbit reduction manoeuvres were carried out on the satellite on the 6th, 9th, 14th and 16th of August, ahead of the separation of both its modules on the 17th of August, in the run up to the landing on the 23rd of August.

Earlier, over five moves in the three weeks since the the 14th of July launch, ISRO lifted the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft into orbits farther and farther away from the Earth. The Mission's objectives of Chandrayaan-3 are to demonstrate a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, to demonstrate rover roving on the Moon, and to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.