THE second earth-bound orbit-raising manoeuvre for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed in the early hours of Friday (26), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.
The manoeuvre was carried out at 1.08 am using the onboard propulsion system for a firing duration of 883 seconds, the space agency said in a statement.
With this effort, the spacecraft was pushed to an orbit of 251 X 54,829 km, it said.
ISRO announced that all the parameters of the spacecraft were normal. The third orbit raising manoeuvre will be performed on July 29 afternoon.
The ambitious project of sending a spacecraft with a moon lander and a rover was launched on July 22 afternoon. The ISRO is aiming for a soft landing of the lander (spacecraft) in the South Pole region of the moon where no country has gone so far.
The earth-bound manoeuvres had started from Wednesday and it will culminate into Trans Lunar Insertion, scheduled on August 14, 2019, which will send the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft to the moon.
If successful, it will make India the fourth country after Russia, the US, and China to pull off a soft landing on the moon.
Activists and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) clash with police personnel during a protest demanding the resignation of India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged NEET examination irregularities in New Delhi on July 20, 2026. India's riot police baton-charged protesters in New Delhi as they tried to march to parliament on July 20, escalating a protest over irregularities in major examinations.Getty Images
A police personnel fires tear gas shells to disperse activists and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) during a protest demanding the resignation of India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged NEET examination irregularities in New Delhi on July 20, 2026. India's riot police baton-charged protesters in New Delhi as they tried to march to parliament on July 20, escalating a protest over irregularities in major examinations.Getty Images
Protesters gather as they take part in a demonstration organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar during the opening day of Parliament's Monsoon Session on July 20, 2026 in New Delhi, India. A mix of protesters gathered in New Delhi on Monday as discontent bubbled over myriad issues, and as Sonam Wangchuk, an activist who was fasting in protest, was forcibly taken to hospital on Sunday. Getty Images
Opposition leaders of the Indian National Congress (INC) party Rahul Gandhi (C back) and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (C) stage a sit-in protest calling for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resignation outside the latter's residence in New Delhi on July 21, 2026, a day after police crackdown against the protesting Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) supporters demanding the Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan step down over alleged NEET examination irregularities.Getty Images
Protesters stand amid debris strewn across a road during clashes with police at a demonstration organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on the opening day of Parliament's Monsoon Session on July 20, 2026 in New Delhi, India. A mix of protesters gathered in New Delhi on Monday as discontent bubbled over myriad issues, and as Sonam Wangchuk, an activist who was fasting in protest, was forcibly taken to hospital on Sunday.Getty Images