The GSLV Mk III launch vehicle for Chandrayaan-2 is also carrying an orbiter, a lander called Vikram, and a rover which is called Pragyan. In a recent statement by the Indian Space Research Organisation, the Chandrayaan-2 will initiate Earth bound manoeuvres from today

The spacecraft is scheduled to reach Moon by Aug 20, 2019.

Once the apogee is at maximum and perigee is at minimum, the gravitational force will pull the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft towards its trajectory and that is when the Trans Lunar Injection will occur.

It has been just two days since the Chandrayaan-2 was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. The launch happened on July 22 at 2.43 PM IST daytime and the successful lift-off saw India enter the prestigious list of countries who have attempted to send a rocket to the moon. But that is not all. The GSLV MK-III launch vehicle for Chandrayaan-2 is also carrying an orbiter, a lander called Vikram, and a rover which is called Pragyan. The rover will attempt to test the soil and minerals present on the lunar surface, thus trying to find out the possible existence of man landing on the moon.


In a recent statement by the Indian Space Research Organisation, the Chandrayaan-2 will initiate Earthbound manoeuvres from today. In a statement released by the Indian Space Agency, here is what they said, "Earthbound manoeuvres for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft are planned to be executed from today onward. The spacecraft is scheduled to reach Moon by Aug 20, 2019." According to the flight plan, the Chandrayaan-2 will be injected into an earth parking orbit at 170 x 39120 km. A parking orbit is a temporary orbit which is used for launching a satellite or other space probe.

Once the apogee (of Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft - its distance from the Earth) is at maximum and perigee (the same in relation to Chandrayaan-2 and the Earth) is at minimum, the gravitational force of the Moon will pull the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft towards its trajectory and that is when the Trans Lunar Injection will occur. The apogee of any celestial body with respect to Earth is the farthest point in the orbit and the perigee is the point which is the closest to the Earth in the orbit.