The Chandrayan-2 mission's orbital station has been in lunar orbit since 2019
NEW DELHI, August 21. /tass/. The landing module of the Indian lunar mission "Chandrayan-3" has successfully established contact with the Chandrayan-2 orbital station, providing Indian specialists with an additional communication channel with the spacecraft preparing for landing. This was reported by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
"The Chandrayan-2 Orbital Station sent a welcome message to the Chandrayan-3 lander. A two-way communication channel is installed. The mission control center has another route of communication with the lander," ISRO wrote on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
The message notes that the orbital station greeted the lander with the words "Welcome, my friend!".
The landing module of the Chandrayan-3 mission performed the last maneuver to lower the orbit and slow down the speed of movement on August 20. ISRO specialists are preparing for the landing of the device, which is expected around 18:04 on Wednesday (15:34 Moscow time).
The Chandrayan-2 mission's orbital station has been in lunar orbit since 2019. Then India also tried to lower the Vikram module to the surface of the Earth's natural satellite, but it crashed during landing, while the Chandrayan-2 station still continues to work in orbit. If the Chandrayan-3 mission is successful, India will become the fourth country to land the spacecraft on the moon (after the USSR, the USA and the PRC).
The Chandrayan-3 mission is designed to demonstrate a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface. The area of the Moon's south pole was chosen as the landing site, as in the Chandrayan-2 mission. With the help of scientific instruments, ISRO plans to conduct seismic studies of the Moon, study the chemical and mineral composition of the surface of the celestial body. It is expected that the lunar rover of the Chandrayan-3 mission will work in the vicinity of the south pole for about one lunar day (about 14 Earth days).