Posted: Thu, Nov 13, 2008, 7:34 AM ET (1234 GMT)
India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar spacecraft has entered its operational orbit around the Moon as controllers plan to deploy the spacecraft's impactor probe. Chandrayaan-1 completed a set of maneuvers on Wednesday that put the spacecraft into a 100-kilometer circular orbit. The spacecraft, launched last month, entered an elliptical lunar orbit on November 8. The next major mission milestone will be the release of the spacecraft's Moon Impact Probe (MIP), scheduled for release on Friday. The MIP will transmit images during its descent to the lunar surface; it is also decorated with Indian flags to mark the country arrival at the Moon.

Related Links:

•  PTI article
•  The Hindu article
•  The Telegraph (India) article
•  IANS article
•  ISRO press release