Chandrayaan-3, an Indian spacecraft headed for the moon, advanced towards its objective on Tuesday as the Indian space agency raised its orbit for the fifth time. On August 1, when the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) directs Chandrayaan-3 to the TransLunar Injection (TLI), Chandrayaan-3 will follow the “moon space route.”

The orbit-raising manoeuvre (Earth-bound perigee firing) was successfully carried out from ISTRAC/ISRO, Bangalore, the ISRO stated on Tuesday. The spacecraft should reach an orbit of 127609 kilometres by 236 km. After the observations, the orbit will be verified. The TransLunar Injection (TLI), the following fire, is scheduled on August 1, 2023, between midnight and one in the morning IST, according to the ISRO.

On July 15, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was launched into orbit by India’s LVM3 heavy lift rocket. The first orbit raising was completed on the same day, while the second orbit raising was completed on July 17.

According to the ISRO, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is made up of a propulsion module weighing 2,148 kg, a lander weighing 1,723.89 kg, and a rover weighing 26 kg.

The mission’s primary goal is to successfully land the lander on the lunar surface. A few days after entering lunar orbit, the propulsion module will be removed from the lander, which will then make a soft touchdown on the moon’s South Pole at 5:47 PM on August 23.

From a height of around 100 km above the moon’s surface, the lander will descend to the lunar surface. The soft landing is a challenging problem because it requires a sequence of difficult actions that include both rough and precise braking. Prior to landing, imaging of the landing site area will be performed to identify safe and hazard-free zones.

The six-wheeled rover will roll out after the soft landing and conduct tests on the lunar surface for one lunar day, which is equivalent to 14 Earth days.