Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan-3, the word for "moon craft" in Sanskrit, travels after it was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India, July 14, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

NEW DELHI - The lander module of India's Moon Mission's (Chandrayaan-3) has successfully separated from the propulsion module, the country's space agency Indian Space Research Organization announced on Thursday.

The lander module is now scheduled for soft-landing on the Moon's surface on Aug 23.

The lander module, comprising the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover, will now be lowered to an orbit that takes it closer to the Moon's surface

In a critical step, the lander module, comprising the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover, will now be lowered to an orbit that takes it closer to the Moon's surface.

The Moon Mission-3's spacecraft was launched on July 14 and it entered into Lunar orbit on Aug 5, following which orbit reduction manoeuvres were carried out on Aug 6, 9 and 14. On Aug 16, the spacecraft successfully underwent its fifth and final Lunar-bound orbit manoeuvre.

READ MORE: India's 3rd moon mission successfully reaches lunar orbit

The separation of the lander module from the propulsion module on Thursday was one of the crucial steps of the Moon Mission.