Chandrayaan-3: ISRO successfully reduces Lander Module orbit bringing it closer to moon
Bengaluru (PTI): The ISRO on Sunday said it successfully reduced the orbit of the Chandrayaan-3 mission's Lander Module (LM), further bringing it nearer to the moon.
The national space agency also said that the LM would now undergo internal checks.
The LM, comprising the lander ‘Vikram' and rover ‘Pragyan’, is expected to touch down on the lunar surface on August 23 evening, it said.
“The second and final deboosting (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 LM of Chandrayaan-3 successfully separated from the Propulsion Module on Thursday, 35 days after the mission was launched on July 14.
ISRO sources earlier said, that after the separation, the lander is expected to undergo "deboost" (the process of slowing down) operations to place it in an orbit, where the Perilune (the orbit's closest point to the Moon) is 30 kilometres and Apolune (farthest point from the Moon) is 100 km, from where the soft landing on the south polar region of the Moon will be attempted.
At around 30 km altitude, the lander enters the powered braking phase, and begins to use its thrusters to reach the surface of the moon, they said, adding that at an altitude of about 100 m altitude, the lander would scan the surface to check whether there are any obstacles and then start descending to make a soft landing.
Post its launch on July 14, Chandrayaan-3 entered into the lunar orbit on August 5, following which orbit reduction manoeuvres were carried out on the satellite on August 6, 9, 14 and 16, ahead of the separation of both its modules on August 17, in the runup to the landing on August 23.
Earlier, over five moves in the three weeks since the July 14 launch, ISRO lifted the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft into orbits farther and farther away from the Earth.
Then, on August 1 in a key manoeuvre -- a slingshot move -- the spacecraft was sent successfully towards the Moon from Earth's orbit. Following this trans-lunar injection, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft escaped from orbiting the Earth and began following a path that would take it to the vicinity of the moon.
Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface.
The mission 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.
The lander has the capability to soft land at a specified lunar site and deploys the rover that will carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the Moon's surface during the course of its mobility.
The lander and the rover have scientific payloads to carry out experiments on the lunar surface.
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Pune accident: Porsche car's registration was pending since March due to non-payment of Rs 1,758 fee
Mumbai, May 21: The permanent registration of the luxury Porsche car involved in the accident in which two IT professionals were fatally knocked down by in Pune city was pending since March due to non-payment of Rs 1,758 fees by the owner, top officials of the Maharashtra transport department said on Tuesday.
The electric luxury sports sedan - Porsche Taycan - was being driven allegedly by a prominent builder's 17-year-old son, who the police claim was drunk at the time of the accident that took place in Kalyani Nagar area in the early hours of Sunday.
Maharashtra Transport Commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar told PTI that the Porsche car was imported in March by a dealer in Bengaluru and from there it was sent to Maharashtra on a temporary registration.
"When it was produced at the Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO), it was found that a certain registration fee was not paid and the owner was asked to pay the amount for completion of the procedure. However, the vehicle was not brought to the RTO for the completion of the registration process after that," he said.
According to officials, road tax is exempted for electric vehicles registered in Maharashtra, and hence for the registration of this Porsche Taycan model, the registration fees that were applicable were only Rs 1,758 with the break-up of Rs 1,500 hypothecation fees, Rs 200 smart card RC fees and Rs 58 postal charges.
Interestingly, as per Porsche India's website, the ex-showroom price of the vehicle manufacturer's various cars starts at Rs 96 lakh and goes over Rs 1.86 crore. Though the price of the Porsche Taycan model is not given on the website, transport department sources said that it could be in crores.
The officials said that as per their records, the vehicle had a valid temporary registration certificate issued by Karnataka with a validity of six months from March to September 2024.
They said that the Porsche dealer in Bengaluru was not at fault as he had handed over the car after doing the temporary registration. Hence, it was the responsibility of the owner to get it registered at the RTO before plying it on the roads. During the temporary registration period, the vehicles can only be used to drive to and from the RTO.
Bhimanwar said that the teenage boy, who was said to be driving the car, will be barred from getting a driving licence until he turns 25 years of age, and the luxury car will also not be allowed to register at any RTO office for 12 months as its existing temporary registration will be cancelled as per the provisions in the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act.
Under the sub-sections of Section 199A (offenses by juveniles) of the MV Act, the transport authorities can take this action.
Bhimanwar said that their department is going to take stringent action in this case and the Pune RTO has been asked to register the police complaint for violation of provisions in the MV Act
"Whatever violations related to the Motor Vehicles Act happened in the issue, those will be registered in the FIR," Bhimanwar said, adding that they will also invoke the procedure for cancellation of the temporary registration of the vehicle as per the provisions in the act.
"The vehicle will be impounded for 12 months," another top official of the transport department said, adding that there is gross negligence in this case as the vehicle was driven at a speed over 160 kmph, allegedly in an inebriated state as per media reports.
The official said that there are several violations in this case, including driving the vehicle without a driving licence and without its registration, among others.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in a press conference in Pune this evening that the car was purchased in Bengaluru and was brought here.
"As per the primary information, the RTI had carried out its inspection but the tax which was required to be paid was not paid. If there is any violation regarding that, a separate FIR will be registered," he said.
