BANGALORE:
India's Chandrayaan 2 spacecraft entered lunar orbit yesterday, executing one
of the trickiest maneuvers on its historic mission to the Moon. After four
weeks in space, the craft completed its Lunar Orbit Insertion as planned, the
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said in a statement. The insertion
"was completed successfully yesterday at 0902 hrs IST (0332 GMT) as
planned, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of maneuver was 1738
seconds," the national space agency said.

India is seeking
to become just the fourth nation after Russia, the United States and China to
land a spacecraft on the Moon. If the rest of the mission goes to plan, the
Indian probe will land on the lunar South Pole on September 7. To enter the
final orbit over the lunar poles, Chandrayaan 2 will undergo four more similar
maneuvers, with the next scheduled today.

ISRO chief K
Sivan said the maneuver was a key milestone for the mission, adding he was
hoping for a perfect landing next month. "On September 7, the lander will
land on the moon. Whatever is humanly possible, has been done by us,"
Sivan told reporters. Yesterday's insertion was one of the trickiest operations
in the mission because if the satellite had approached the Moon at a higher
velocity it would have bounced off and got lost in deep space.  And had it approached at a slow velocity, the
Moon's gravity would have pulled it in, causing a crash.

"The
approach velocity had to be just right and the altitude over the moon precise.
Even a small error would have killed the mission," Sivan said. "Our
heartbeats increased... for 30 minutes, our hearts almost stopped."
Chandrayaan 2, or Moon Chariot 2, lifted off from India's spaceport at Sriharikota
in southern Andhra Pradesh state on July 22.

The spacecraft
used in the mission comprises an orbiter, a lander and a rover almost entirely
designed and made in India. The orbiter has a mission life of a year and will
take images of the lunar surface. ISRO says the mission will help scientists to
better understand the origin and evolution of the Moon by conducting detailed
topographical studies, mineral analyses and a host of other experiments. About
$140 million was spent on preparations for the probe's mission-a much smaller
price tag compared to similar operations by other countries.

It was launched
on India's most powerful rocket, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
(GSLV) MkIII. The lift-off was successful in its second attempt, a week after
it was aborted just under an hour from its launch due to a technical glitch.
India's first lunar mission in 2008 -- Chandrayaan-1 -- did not land on the
Moon, but carried out a search for water using radar. A soft landing on the
Moon would be a huge leap forward in India's space program, with Prime Minister
Narendra Modi determined to launch a manned mission into space by 2022. India
also has ambitions to land a probe on Mars. In 2014, India became only the
fourth nation to put a satellite into orbit around the Red Planet. - AFP