India's ambitious second lunar expedition Chandrayaan-2 has crossed yet another very significant milestone this afternoon, with the successful separation of the Lander Vikram from its Orbiter. <br />''<br />''In a swift action, the scientists of the national space agency, ISRO carried out the surgical action at 13.15 hrs and detached the Lander from its mothercraft, the Orbiter. <br />''<br />''The operation got over in just a few milliseconds, by cutting the umbilical cord of the Lander with the mothercraft. An ISRO release says, all the systems of both the Orbiter and the Lander of Chandrayaan-2 remain healthy.<br />''<br />''With the successful separation today, the focus has now shifted to navigating the lander module to the lunar South Pole. <br />''<br />''The separated module consists of the lander Vikram and the rover Pragyaan, which are in an integrated form. The ISRO has planned two de-orbit manoeuvres, one between 8.45 and 9.45 am tomorrow and the other in the evening day-after-tomorrow. <br />''<br />''De-orbiting is aimed at nudging the lander directly towards the lunar surface, so that it can have a gentle touch down near its the South Pole on September 7.<br />''<br />''The Lander Vikram has been named in honour of the Father of Indian Space Programmes Dr Vikram Sarabhai. The name also means valour, as it is aiming for a territory on the moon where no probe has gone before. <br />''<br />''It houses in its belly the rover Pragyan, which it will unleash just hours after reaching its final destination, the lunar South Pole.<br />''<br />''The Lander Vikram weighs nearly 1.5 tons and has the capacity to generate 650-watt power using its solar panels. It has three payloads, including the instrument for studying the lunar seismic activity. <br />''<br />''The moon's thermal conductivity will be observed using the "Chandra's Surface Thermo-Physical experimental device" on the lander. The Langmuir Probe atop it will conduct ionosphere studies on the lunar surface, as said by the ISRO in its earlier release.<br />''<br />''The mission life of the Lander and the Rover is a lunar day, which is equivalent to 14 days on the earth. <br />''<br />''Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu today congratulated team ISRO for achieving another milestone.<br />''<br />''In a tweet, Mr Naidu said, India moves a step closer to create history. He said the nation is waiting to watch its soft landing on the South Pole of the moon on 7th of September.<br />''<br />''<p class="MsoNormal"><br />''</p>