India's second moon mission the 'Chandrayaan-2' is expected to reach the orbit of the moon on 20 August and land on the lunar surface on 7 September, ISRO chief Dr K. Sivan said on Monday.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr Sivan told media: "On 14 August early morning, around 3:30, we are going to have a manoeuvre called a trans-lunar injection, through this manoeuvre, Chandrayaan-2 will leave earth and move towards the moon."

Dr Sivan was in the Indian city of Ahmedabad, to attend the birth centenary celebrations of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the founder of India's space programme.

The ISRO chief further revealed since the launch of the Chandrayaan-2 on 22 July, the three-module spacecraft successfully completed five manoeuvres and was currently moving around Earth.

He said once the spacecraft reaches the moon on 20 August, a lunar orbit insertion will be carried out. "Subsequently, we have planned to have a series of manoeuvres around the moon, and finally on 7 September, we will be landing on the moon near its south pole."

Stating all Chandrayaan-2 systems were functioning properly, Dr Sivan said the space agency would take up a mission to launch small satellites in the coming months.

In December, India will launch a small satellite launcher for the first time, the ISRO chief added.

The Chandrayaan-2 mission to the moon blasted into space on 22 July one week after a technical glitch forced ISRO scientists to halt its scheduled launch.

The lunar mission spacecraft took off at 2.43 p.m. Indian Standard Time from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre located in coastal Sriharikota Island in India's Andhra Pradesh state.

On 15 July, ISRO scientists had to abort the uncrewed mission 56 minutes before takeoff. They later found a leak while filling the rocket's cryogenic engine with helium.

Source: Sputnik News

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India's moon-bound Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft set to leave Earth's orbit
Washington DC (UPI) Aug 14, 2019
On Tuesday night, Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft will leave Earth's orbit and begin making its way toward the moon. Early Wednesday morning, after leaving Earth's orbit, engineers with the Indian Space Research Organization will direct the spacecraft to perform an important maneuver called Trans Lunar Insertion. The move will put the spacecraft on a trajectory that will put the probe into orbit around the moon on August 20. "Subsequently, we have planned to have a series of maneuvers around the mo ... read more