Chandrayaan-3’s Lander Vikram To Undergo ‘Deboosting’ Today. What Does It Mean?

Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft's lander Vikram, which successfully separated from its propulsion module on Thursday, will undergo a deboosting manoeuvre today.

A lander module, a propulsion module, and a rover make up the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft. The lander module is carried by the propulsion module from launch vehicle injection to a 100-km orbit around the moon.

The lander is named Vikram, after Vikram Sarabhai, the father of the Indian space programme. The lander carries the rover, named Pragyan, which will be conducting numerous experiments on the moon's surface.

It is scheduled to land at the lunar south pole on August 23 at approximately 5.30 p.m. IST.

The lander module will descend further towards the lunar surface from the current near-circular orbit of 153 x 163 km after a deboosting manoeuvre.

Deboosting refers to the process of slowing down to place the lander in an orbit where the closest point to the moon is 30 kilometres and the farthest point from the moon is 100 km.

This is the point from where the soft landing on the south polar region of the moon will be attempted.