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An illustration showing the soft-landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the surface of the Moon. The spacecraft is set to land on August 23, 2023 around 6.04 p.m. IST. Photo: Twitter/@isro via PTI
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on August 21 said a two-way communication between the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter and Chandrayaan-3’s Lunar Module has been established.
Also read: Chandrayaan-3 | How NASA, ESA will support ISRO during the Moon landing on August 23
“‘Welcome, buddy!’ Ch-2 orbiter formally welcomed Ch-3 LM. Two-way communication between the two is established. MOX [Mission Operations Complex] has now more routes to reach the LM,” the national space agency said in a post on ‘X’.
A view of the moon as viewed by the Chandrayaan-3 lander during Lunar Orbit Insertion on August 5, 2023 in this screengrab from a video released August 6, 2023. Photo: ISRO via Reuters
The ISRO said on August 20 the lander module of Chandrayaan-3, the third lunar mission of India, is expected to touch down on the surface of the Moon around 6.04 p.m. on August 23.
The MOX (Mission Operations Complex) is located at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru.
The ISRO also said, in an update, that the live telecast of the landing event will begin at 5.20 p.m. on August 23.
The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft comprising orbiter, lander and rover was launched in 2019. The lander with a rover in its belly crashed into the Moon’s surface, failing in its mission to achieve a soft-landing.
The ISRO said in 2019 that due to the precise launch and orbital manoeuvres, the mission life of the orbiter is increased to seven years.
Watch | Data Point: How tough is it to land Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander on the moon?
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