Indias Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft has moved into a new, higher, orbit around the Earth

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had reported on Thursday that India's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft successfully completed the fourth orbit-raising manoeuvre and entered a new, higher orbit above the Earth.

"India marks International Moon Day 2023 by launching Chandrayaan-3 one step closer to the moon." "The fourth orbit raising manoeuvre (Earth-bound perigee firing) from ISTRAC/ISRO (ISRO Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network), Bengaluru, was successfully completed," the ISRO tweeted.

Chandrayaan-3, which is scheduled to make a gentle landing on the Moon's surface next month, is now orbiting the Earth in elliptical orbits that are gradually increasing in height. The spacecraft is expected to do five such orbit-raising operations in order to constantly advance into higher and higher orbits before commencing its straight approach to the moon. Once there, it would do similar manoeuvres to gradually lower itself into lower and lower orbits around the moon, finally reaching a circular orbit around 100 kilometres above the lunar surface. The final drop to the Moon's surface would take place from this circular orbit on August 23 or 24.

Chandrayaan-3 is taking a diversion rather than travelling directly to the Moon, to save money on the entire mission. A straight voyage to the Moon, which takes around four days, would need significantly bigger rockets and massive quantities of fuel to exit the space. Instead, Chandrayaan-3 was launched into a near-Earth orbit, where it has been using gravity to acquire momentum before using thrusters to accelerate and reach a higher orbit. This approach uses far less fuel but takes much longer to reach the Moon. The fifth and final orbit-raising operation in earth orbit is slated for July 25 between 2 and 3 p.m., according to the ISRO.