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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
CM Siddaramaiah criticises PM Modi for unfulfilled promises, labels him "Lord of Lies"
Bagalkote: In a scathing critique, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of failing to fulfill his promises, dubbing him the "lord of lies." Addressing a campaign event for Samyukt Patil, the Congress party's Lok Sabha candidate, Siddaramaiah lambasted Modi's tenure, particularly highlighting unmet commitments regarding farmers' loans and economic policies.
Siddaramaiah pointedly criticized Modi's failure to waive farmers' loans despite pledging relief to struggling agricultural communities. He contrasted this with his own government's initiatives, emphasizing the waiver of farmer loans totaling Rs. 8165 crore to benefit 27 lakh farmers. The Chief Minister underscored the disparity between Modi's rhetoric and his administration's actions, citing the persistent struggles of farmers and the escalating cost of living.
Further, Siddaramaiah challenged Modi's stance on reservations, asserting that the BJP does not genuinely support affirmative action policies. He condemned Modi's alleged attempts to stoke communal tensions by falsely claiming that Congress would revoke reservations for Dalits and backward classes. Siddaramaiah reaffirmed the constitutional mandate for reservation based on social and educational backwardness, regardless of caste or creed.
Moreover, Siddaramaiah criticized Modi's handling of government vacancies, noting the significant backlog in filling positions. He argued that the failure to address these vacancies deprived deserving candidates, particularly from marginalized communities, of employment opportunities and further exacerbated social inequality.
In his address, Siddaramaiah also dismissed Modi's theatrical gestures, such as wearing a black blanket during speeches, as mere "costume dramas." He emphasized the need for substantive policy measures to address the challenges facing the nation, rather than symbolic gestures.
