Moon lander 'Vikram' successfully separated from Chandrayaan-2 orbiter Monday, the ISRO said. During the one-hour separation window starting 12.45 pm, 'Vikram' was separated at 1.15 pm, the Indian Space Research Organisation said.
"Yes, the separation was successfully carried out," an ISRO official said.
The official statement from ISRO read
"The Vikram Lander successfully separated from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter at 1315 Hrs IST today (September 02, 2019). The Vikram Lander is currently located in an orbit of 119 km x 127 km. The Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter continues to orbit the Moon in its existing orbit. The health of the Orbiter and Lander is being monitored from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Bylalu, near Bengaluru. All the systems of Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter and Lander are healthy."
The next maneuver is scheduled tomorrow (September 03, 2019) between 0845-0945 hrs IST
Chandrayaan-2
After the separation, two deorbit manoeuvres of the lander would be carried out to prepare for its landing in the south polar region of the moon.
The Vikram Moon Lander, named after the father of India's space mission Vikram Sarabhai on his birth centenary year, is scheduled to touch the lunar surface near its south pole on September 7 at about 1.55 am.
A rover called 'Pragyaan' would roll out from the lander to carry out various tests on the lunar soil, especially detecting the presence of water and other minerals there.
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