• Source:JND
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The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Monday announced that Chandrayaan-3’s lander module, which is set to attempt historic ‘soft-landing’ on the lunar surface on August 23, has established two-way communication with the orbiter of Chandrayaan-2.

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, the space agency wrote, "'Welcome, buddy!' Ch-2 orbiter formally welcomed Ch-3 LM. Two-way communication between the two is established. MOX has now more routes to reach the LM.”

Chandrayaan-2 is the previous edition of India’s lunar mission, which was launched in 2019. Though the lander of Chandrayaan-2 lost communication, the orbiter is currently in a 100 km x 100 km orbit around the Moon.

ISRO in its tweet also informed that the live telecast of the landing will begin at 5:20 pm on August 23. Earlier on Sunday, the space agency said that Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the Moon around 6:04 pm on August 23.

ALSO READ: Chandrayaan-3: India Awaits Moon Landing In Anticipation After Luna-25 Failure, Ex-ISRO Chief Says 'Will Be Grand Success'

Chandrayaan-3 has completed all five orbit manoeuver steps and two deboosting manoeuvers, bringing it much closer to the Moon’s surface.

ISRO has also shared pictures of the lunar far side area which were captured by the Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC). The space agency said they created this camera that assists in locating a safe landing area, without boulders or deep trenches during the descent.

While Russia’s first lunar mission in the past 47 years to land on the south pole failed after its mission spacecraft Luna-25 lost its connection during a pre-landing manoeuvre and crashed into the Moon.

All About Chandrayaan-3

Chandrayaan-3 is India’s third lunar exploration mission, which aims to put the country in an elite club of nations that accomplished lunar missions with a soft landing.

The mission is expected to pave the way for future interplanetary missions. This mission is ISRO’s follow-up attempt after the Chandrayaan-2 mission faced challenges during its safe landing on the lunar surface in 2019.