Chennai: India's first moon lander -- Vikram -- on Tuesday got nearer to the Moon with the Indian space agency successfully completing the first of the two de-orbital operations.According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the de-orbital operation began at 8.50 a.m. as planned. Using the onboard propulsion system for 4 seconds the operation was carried out successfully.The orbit of Vikram Lander is 104 km x 128 km.

The Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter continues to orbit the Moon in the existing orbit and both the Orbiter and Lander are healthy.The next de-orbiting operation is scheduled on Wednesday between 3.30 a.m - 4.30 a.m.On Monday afternoon, Vikram got separated from its mother spacecraft Chandrayaan-2.Vikram is scheduled to land on the south polar region of the moon on September 7 between 1.30 a.m. to 2.30 a.m.

After the moon touchdown by Vikram, the rover -- Pragyan -- will roll down from the former to carry out the research for which it was designed.Meanwhile, the Orbiter continues to fly around the moon.On July 22, the Rs 978-crore Chandrayaan-2 was launched into space by India's heavy lift rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV Mk III) in a text book style launch.