The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has ruled out a collision between the Orbiter, part of India’s Chandrayaan-2, and the US Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).

An ISRO spokesman said the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter had been diverted to avoid a major collision.

The decision to make the change came a week before the two satellites approached. If the orbit had been the same, Chandrayaan and the LRO would have come within three kilometers. NASA and ISRO have agreed to change the orbits of both lunar satellites to avoid problems for both satellites.

By 2020, Cartosat-2F, India’s 700 kg cartography satellite, and Russia’s 450 kg Canopus-V satellite are expected to be similarly relocated. At that time, two Earth observation satellites were approaching 224 meters. Canopus-V is a Earth observation by the Russian Space Agency.

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