Moon Lander Vikram's Solo Flight Begins

Chandrayaan-2 Lander With Its Rover Detaches From Its Orbiter.

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PRAGYAAN and Vikram are finally on their way to the Moon. After a journey of around a month and a half, Chandrayaan-2 is just five days away from achieving the unachieved — landing a rover near the south pole of the Moon, a feat unaccomplished by any other country.

Praygyaan is Chandrayaan-2 six wheeled rover that is currently housed in the Vikram lander. The lander and the rover succesfully broke from the Chandhrayaan-2 orbiter on Monday afternoon and began their own journey to the Moon.

The separation took place at 1:15 pm Monday afternoon, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said. Vikram is now in an orbit of 119 kms x 127 kms around the Moon — while on this orbit, the closest Vikram will come to the lunar surface will be 119 kilometres while the farthest it will be is 127 kilometres.

The orbiter is also flying in the same orbit and will continue to do so for the next one year.