The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday successfully carried out the orbit reduction manoeuvre of India’s third moon mission Chandrayaan-3.

The ISRO said it will carry out the next such operation on August 9.

“The spacecraft successfully underwent a planned orbit reduction manoeuvre. The retrofiring of engines brought it closer to the moon’s surface, now to 170 km x 4,313 km,” the space agency posted on X, earlier known as Twitter.

“The next operation to further reduce the orbit is scheduled for August 9, 2023, between 1300 and 1400 hrs IST,” it added.

There will be three more moon-bound manoeuvres till August 17, following which the landing module, comprising the lander and rover, will break away from the propulsion module.

After this, de-orbiting manoeuvres will be carried out on the lander before the final descent on the moon.

As per the ISRO, it would attempt a soft landing on the moon’s surface on August 23.