In a major milestone for India’s moon mission, the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft successfully entered the lunar orbit on August 20.

The Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) manoeuvre was completed successfully as planned, using the onboard propulsion system, the ISRO said in a statement.

“The duration of maneuver was 1,738 seconds. With this, Chandrayaan-2 was successfully inserted into lunar orbit,” the space agency said.

Following this, a series of orbit manoeuvres will be performed on Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft to enable it to enter its final orbit passing over the lunar poles at a distance of about 100 km from the moon’s surface, it said.

Subsequently, the lander will separate from the orbiter and enter into a 100 km x 30 km orbit around the moon.

Chandrayaan-2 comprises an orbiter, lander (Vikram) and rover (Pragyaan).

Then, it will perform a series of complex braking manoeuvres to soft land in the South Pole region of the moon on September 7, ISRO stated.

The condition of the spacecraft is being continuously monitored from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Byalalu, near Bengaluru.

The next lunar bound orbit manoeuvre is scheduled on August 21 between 12.30 pm and 1.30 pm, ISRO said.

Chandrayaan-2, launched on July 22 by GSLV Mk-III-M1 vehicle, had entered the Lunar Transfer Trajectory on August 14.

According to ISRO, Chandrayaan-2 - India’s second lunar expedition - will shed light on a completely unexplored section of the moon -  its South Pole region.

“This mission will help us gain a better understanding of the origin and evolution of the moon by conducting detailed topographical studies, comprehensive mineralogical analyses, and a host of other experiments on the lunar surface,” ISRO had said.

“While there, we will also explore discoveries made by Chandrayaan-1, such as the presence of water molecules on the moon and new rock types with unique chemical composition,” it added.