Chandrayaan-2: Vikram Lander successfully separates from orbiter

Vikram Lander successfully separated from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter on Monday, bringing the mission a step closer towards landing on the moon.

The lander, named after the father of India's space programme Vikram Sarabhai, successfully separated from the orbiter at 1.15 pm (IST).

"The Vikram Lander is currently located in an orbit of 119 km x 127 km. The Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter continues to orbit the moon in its existing orbit," the Indian Space Research Organisation said.

All the systems of the lander and the orbiter are healthy, the space agency said in a press release.

The next manoeuvre is scheduled for tomorrow between 8.45-9.45 am.

On Sunday, the fifth and final lunar-bound orbit manoeuvre was successfully conducted by ISRO. The landing on the moon is scheduled for September 7.

The spacecraft will be the first Indian expedition to carry out a soft landing on the lunar surface. This mission will make India the fourth country after the US, Russia, and China to conduct a soft landing on the moon.

After revolving around the Earth's orbit for nearly 23 days, the craft began its journey to the moon on August 14.

The mission took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 22.