Chandrayaan-3: Vikram lander successfully separates from spacecraft

The Vikram lander on Thursday successfully separated from the rest of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft and its propulsion module, kicking off the last phase of India’s Moon mission.

The lander module, Vikram, has detached from the spacecraft and propulsion module. (ISRO)

With this, the mission is one step closer to achieving its pivotal goal of soft-landing on the Moon on August 23. India aims to become the fourth nation to achieve this milestone.

Announcing the successful completion of this crucial stage, ISRO tweeted: “Lander Module (LM) is set to descend to a slightly lower orbit upon a deboosting planned for tomorrow around 1600 Hrs.