India's Chandrayaan-2 completes second de-orbiting manoeuvre

NEW DELHI - The second and final de-orbiting manoeuvre for India's second moon mission Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully on Wednesday, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

ISRO in its statement said, "The second de-orbiting manoeuvre for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully today (September 4) beginning at 0342 hrs IST as planned, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of the manoeuvre was 9 seconds."

ISRO mentioned that the orbit of Vikram Lander is 35 km x 101 km. Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter continues to orbit the Moon in an orbit of 96 km x 125 km and both the orbiter and lander are healthy. With this manoeuvre, the required orbit for Vikram Lander to commence its descent towards the surface of the Moon is achieved.

On Monday, Vikram Lander was separated from its spacecraft Chandrayaan-2.

Launched on July 22, Vikram Lander will attempt to make a soft-landing on the Lunar surface on September 7. The lander has been named in honour of the father of Indian space research program Vikram Sarabhai.