Chandrayaan-3 is Moon-bound after a successful launch!

India's Chandrayaan-3 is heading towards the Moon after a successful launch on the 14th of July 2023. The LVM3-M4 rocket, formerly called GSLV mk3, successfully placed the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft into Low Earth Orbit. Chandrayaan-3 is currently in the process of raising its orbit several times before it will be on its final trajectory into Lunar space. The Indian Space Research Organisation, also called ISRO, is currently expecting to land Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon in the fourth week of August. If the mission is successful, India would become the fourth country to land on the Moon.

ISRO is utilizing several burns to achieve a Lunar transfer trajectory and to get into low Lunar orbit, this method is more efficient at the cost of a longer time getting to Lunar Space. This also allows the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft to save weight and allow more room for science experiments. On the 15th of July, ISRO confirmed that the spacecraft had completed the first orbit-raising maneuver and a second orbit-raising maneuver was completed on the 17th of July.