Chandrayaan-3 moon landing: ISRO set to initiate automatic landing sequence. All you need to know

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Also read: Chandrayaan-3 Moon Landing Today Live Updates: Seven hours to go for India's historic lunar touchdown The ALS is a critical part of the Chandrayaan-3 landing process today. Upon receiving the ALS command, the LM activates its throttleable engines for a powered descent. ISRO's mission operations team closely monitors the execution of commands to ensure a smooth landing.

The required commands will be uploaded to the LM from ISRO's Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) facility a few hours before the scheduled touchdown. During the landing phase, when the LM is at an altitude of approximately 30 km, it enters the powered braking phase. This phase involves using its four thruster engines by "retro firing" them to gradually reduce its speed, preventing a crash due to the Moon's gravity.

At an altitude of around 6.8 km, the LM will use only two engines, shutting down the other two. This manoeuvre aims to provide reverse thrust to the lander as it descends further. When the LM reaches an altitude of about 150-100 meters, it will employ its sensors and cameras to scan the lunar surface for obstacles and initiate a soft landing.

Also read: Chandrayaan-3: Who are the leaders behind ISRO's largest space mission? ISRO Chairman S. Somanath emphasised that the most critical part of the landing process is reducing the lander's velocity from 30 km height to the final landing stage and reorienting the spacecraft from horizontal to vertical direction. Following a successful soft landing, the rover will descend from the lander's belly onto the lunar surface using one of its side panels as a ramp.