Sriharikota: Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-2 has sent the first pictures of Earth as viewed in space. In a series of tweets, Isro shared the Earth’s pictures clicked by LI4 Camera of Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram lander on 3rd August, 2019. The pictures show the Earth in different hues.
“Earth as viewed by #Chandrayaan2 LI4 Camera on August 3, 2019 17:34 UT,” Isro tweeted along with the pictures. Earlier in July, ISRO had said the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was in “good health” and moving in the “right direction”.
“The Chandrayaan-2 is in good health. There is no doubt about it. It is moving in the right direction,” an official of the Bengaluru-headquartered ISRO said.
ISRO is aiming for a soft landing of the lander (spacecraft) in the South Pole region of the moon where no country has gone so far.
In a giant leap for the country’s ambitious low-cost space programme, most powerful three-stage rocket GSLV-MkIII-M1 had launched the spacecraft into the Earth’s orbit on July 22 from the spaceport in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota.
The agency has planned a total of 15 orbit, raising manoeuvres before the 3,850 kilogrammes (kg) three-module Chandrayaan-2 comprising an orbiter, lander and rover are brought around the Moon, which is at a distance of nearly four lakhs km from the Earth.
“Third earth-bound orbit-raising maneuver for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft has been performed successfully today at 15:12 hrs (IST) as planned, using the on the board propulsion system for a firing duration of 989 seconds.
“The orbit achieved is 276 x 71792 km. All spacecraft parameters are normal,” ISRO said in an update.
The fourth orbit-raising maneuver was scheduled on 2nd August, between 2 pm- 3 pm (IST), it said.
The Chandrayaan-2 will be subjected to a series of orbit maneuvers in the coming weeks to take it to the vicinity of the moon, with the rover soft landing planned on 7th September.
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