Chennai, September 4: The second de-orbiting manoeuvre for Chandrayan2 spacecraft was performed successfully on Wednesday, beginning at 3:42 am as planned, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of the manoeuvre was 9 seconds, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Chandrayaan 2: Vikram's Orbit Reduced, One Step Closer to Moon Landing.

With this manoeuvre the required orbit for the Vikram Lander to commence its descent towards the surface of the Moon is achieved, ISRO said in a statement. According to an ANI report, the nine-second de-orbiting or retro-orbiting manoeuvre was executed at 3.42 am.

On Tuesday, the first de-orbiting manoeuvre for the spacecraft was carried out, a day after lander 'Vikram' was separated from the orbiter. India's first moon lander Vikram successfully separated from its mother spacecraft Chandrayaan-2 on Monday at 1.15 a.m.

Check ANI update:

 

Vikram is scheduled for a powered-descent between 1 am and 2 am on September 7, followed by touch down of Lander between 1.30 am and 2.30 am. ISRO Chairman K Sivan has said the proposed soft-landing on the Moon is going to be a "terrifying" moment as ISRO has not done it before, whereas Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) manoeuvre was successfully performed during the Chandrayaan-1 mission.

Following the landing, the rover 'Pragyan' will roll out from 'Vikram' between 5:30-6:30 am on September 7, and carry out experiments on the lunar surface for a period of one lunar day, which is equal to 14 earth days.

On July 22, the Rs 978 crore Chandrayaan-2 was launched into space by India's heavy-lift rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV Mk III) in a textbook style.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 04, 2019 07:51 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).