Chennai (Tamil Nadu): India's first moon lander -- Vikram -- on Tuesday got nearer to the Moon with the Indian space agency successfully completing the first of the two de-orbital operations.
According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the de-orbital operation has begun at 8.50 a.m. as already had planned. Using the onboard propulsion system for 4 seconds the operation was carried out successfully.
The orbit of Vikram Lander is 104 km x 128 km, the space agency said.
The Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter continues to orbit the Moon in the existing orbit and both the Orbiter and Lander are healthy.
The next de-orbiting operation is scheduled on Wednesday between 3.30 a.m - 4.30 a.m.
On Monday afternoon, Vikram got separated from its mother spacecraft Chandrayaan-2.
Vikram is scheduled to land on the south polar region of the moon on September 7 between 1.30 a.m. to 2.30 a.m.
After the moon touchdown by Vikram, the rover -- Pragyan -- will roll down from the former to carry out the research for which it was designed.
Meanwhile, the Orbiter continues to fly around the moon.
On July 22, the Chandrayaan-2 was launched into space by India's heavy-lift rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV Mk III) in a textbook style launch.
Also read: Chandrayaan 2: Vikram lander successfully separates from orbiter
