'Happy with progression': Isro chief after major Chandrayaan-3 milestone

NEW DELHI: Isro chief S Somanath said that the separation of Chandrayaan-3's lander module Vikram went as planned as the agency completed a significant step in India's lunar mission on Thursday.

Following the success of the latest maneuver, the Isro chief said that he is happy with the progression of the mission so far, Times Now reported.

In the next step, the Lander Module will descend to a slightly lower orbit around the Moon on Friday.



"Thanks for the ride, mate! said the Lander Module (LM). LM is successfully separated from the Propulsion Module (PM). LM is set to descend to a slightly lower orbit upon a deboosting planned for tomorrow around 1600 Hrs., IST," ISRO said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) after the separation.

Post its launch on July 14, Chandrayaan-3 entered into the lunar orbit on August 5, following which orbit reduction maneuvers were carried out on August 6, 9, 14 and 16.


As the mission progressed, a series of maneuvers are being conducted by Isro to gradually reduce Chandrayaan-3's orbit and position it over the lunar poles.

The spacecraft is scheduled to make a soft landing on the south polar region of the Moon on August 23.

(With inputs from agencies)