The eagerly awaited separation of India’s Chandrayaan-3’s lander Vikram from its propulsion module is scheduled for Thursday, August 17, 2023. Anticipation is building as the lander, accompanied by the rover Pragyaan, is poised to make its lunar touchdown on August 23. Once they touch down on the lunar surface, the Vikram lander will turn its lenses toward the Pragyaan rover, which is set to unfurl its instruments aimed at scrutinizing seismic activities on the Moon’s rugged terrain.
India’s ambitious lunar endeavour, Chandrayaan-3, celebrated a pivotal achievement recently, successfully executing its fifth and final orbit manoeuvre bound for the Moon. This manoeuvre manoeuvred the spacecraft even closer to its lunar destination. With all lunar-bound manoeuvres now behind it, the spacecraft is set to embark on the upcoming separation of the lander, Vikram, from the propulsion module.
While the focus remains fixed on India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission, the lunar domain is abuzz with heightened activity, and India is not navigating the lunar expanse alone. As of July 2023, the Moon is transforming into a bustling nexus of missions, featuring six active lunar orbiters and several more missions in the pipeline.
The ongoing lunar traffic comprises NASA’s long-standing Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), two probes from NASA’s revamped ARTEMIS mission, India’s Chandrayaan-2, the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), and NASA’s Capstone.