Chandrayaan-2 gets first orbit boost around earth

Sriharikota: The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft, which blasted off to space on Monday, successfully carried out its first orbit-raising manoeuvre on Wednesday afternoon, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said. An orbit-raising manoeuvre is an operation that places a spacecraft into a higher orbit. Engines present onboard the spacecraft are fired to perform the orbit-raising manoeuvre.

Chandrayaan-2's onboard engines were fired for 57 seconds to perform its first orbit-raising manoeuvre. The manoeuvre was completed at 2:52 pm on Wednesday, ISRO said. Chandrayaan-2, which is carrying a lunar rover, will perform a total of four such orbit-raising manoeuvres around Earth before it is finally on its way to its destination -- the Moon.

The second orbit-raising manoeuvre is scheduled for Friday, July 26. Chandrayaan-2 is expected to reach the Moon by August 20. The Chandrayaan-2 mission consists of an orbiter, a lander named Vikram and a rover named Pragyaan.

It will place the rover on the lunar surface, a feat previously accomplished only by three other countries -- the US, Russia and China. Among the experiments the Chandrayaan-2 will conduct are tests to understand the spread of water molecules on the lunar surface.

A fortnight later, Chandrayaan-2 will deploy the lander Vikram, which will attempt to the land near the lunar south pole. Vikram will then deploy the rover Pragyaan, which will roam the Moon's surface for one lunar day (around 14 Earth days), performing experiments including tests to determine the extent of the presence of water on the Moon.