ISRO successfully performs orbit reduction manoeuvre, brings Chandrayaan-3 closer to moon
Bengaluru (PTI): The Indian Space Research Organisation on Sunday said it has successfully carried out the orbit reduction manoeuvre of India's third moon mission Chandrayaan-3, a day after inserting it into the lunar orbit.
The space agency said it will carry out the next such operation on August 9.
"The spacecraft successfully underwent a planned orbit reduction manoeuvre. The retrofiring of engines brought it closer to the moon's surface, now to 170 km x 4,313 km.
"The next operation to further reduce the orbit is scheduled for August 9, 2023, between 1300 and 1400 hrs IST," ISRO tweeted on Sunday.
There will be three more moon-bound manoeuvres till August 17, following which the landing module, comprising the lander and rover, will break away from the propulsion module.
After this, de-orbiting manoeuvres will be carried out on the lander before the final descent on the moon. According to ISRO, it would attempt a soft landing on the moon's surface on August 23.
In over five moves in the three weeks since the launch on July 14, ISRO has been lifting the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft into orbits farther and farther away from the earth.
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.
It comprises an indigenous propulsion module, a lander module and a rover to develop and demonstrate new technologies required for inter-planetary missions.
The propulsion module will carry the lander and rover configuration till 100 km of lunar orbit. The propulsion module has a Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) payload to study the spectral and polarimetric measurements of the earth from the lunar orbit.
The lander has the capability to soft land at a specified lunar site and deploy 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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Court extends interim anticipatory bail granted to HD Revanna till May 20
Bengaluru, May 17: A court here on Friday extended the interim anticipatory bail granted to JD(S) MLA and former Karnataka Minister H D Revanna in a sexual harassment case till May 20, while reserving orders on his anticipatory bail plea till then.
The 42nd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court (ACMM) had earlier heard the matter on Thursday, and had given the 66-year-old interim relief till today.
The sexual harassment case registered against Revanna and his son and MP Prajwal Revanna at Holenarsipur town police station on April 28 pertains to alleged sexual harassment of a 47-year-old house help.
Prajwal reportedly left for Germany on April 27 and is still at large.
The complainant had claimed that the father and son had sexually harassed her at the MLA's residence.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) which is probing the alleged sexual abuse charges against Prajwal and related cases, had sought custody of the former Minister.
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Revanna's advocates sought anticipatory bail in the case.
SIT had sent two notices to Revanna, son of JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, and Prajwal to appear before them for questioning in the case but both of them skipped it.
On Thursday, Revanna applied for anticipatory bail and SIT objected to this and sought either SIT or judicial custody. The court, after hearing both sides, decided to hear the matter again on Friday and till then gave relief to Revanna.
The court resumed the hearing today and, after hearing both sides, reserved order on the bail plea for Monday, and extended interim bail till then.
A Special Court for Elected Representatives on Monday granted bail to Revanna in connection with a kidnap case.
He was arrested by SIT on May 4 in an alleged case of abduction of a woman, linked to the allegations of sexual abuse of women by Prajwal.
The 33-year-old Prajwal is facing charges of multiple instances of sexually abusing women. The scandal has raised a political storm with the ruling Congress and BJP-JD(S) engaged in a slugfest.
An Interpol Blue Corner Notice has been issued against Prajwal in an effort to bring him back.
He was BJP-JD(S) alliance's joint candidate from Hassan Lok Sabha segment, which went to polls on April 26.
