ISRO shares, then deletes purported pics of Chandrayaan-3 lander as seen from Chandrayaan-2 orbiter

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) released and then deleted purported images of Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram Lander as taken by the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter. The update was shared by ISRO on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday (Aug 25) before removing it.

The Indian space agency said that Chandryaan-2's Orbiter High-Resolution Camera (OHRC), the camera with the best resolution anyone currently has around the moon - spotted Chanrayaan-3 Lander after the landing on Wednesday.

"I spy you! 🙂 Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter photoshoots Chandrayaan-3 Lander!” wrote ISRO in a now-deleted post on X.

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Following Vikram Lander's successful touchdown on the Moon, the Pragyan rover rolled out and “walked” on its surface, ISRO said on Thursday. It has commenced its mobility operations and will collect critical data about the elemental composition of the Moon over the next 13 days as part of its mission. The lander will also study the lunar surface.

This historical landing of Chandrayaan-3 made India the first nation to soft-land on the Moon’s south pole, and the fourth to land on the lunar surface.

Chandrayaan-3: All operations are on schedule

The Indian space agency shared the status of the Chandrayaan-3 mission after it landed on Wednesday. All the activities of the mission are on schedule and all systems are working normally, as per ISRO.

“Lander Module payloads ILSA, RAMBHA and ChaSTE are turned ON today. Rover mobility operations have commenced. SHAPE payload on the Propulsion Module was turned ON on Sunday”, ISRO shared on X.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
All activities are on schedule.
All systems are normal.

🔸Lander Module payloads ILSA, RAMBHA and ChaSTE are turned ON today.

🔸Rover mobility operations have commenced.

🔸SHAPE payload on the Propulsion Module was turned ON on Sunday. — ISRO (@isro) August 24, 2023

Chandrayaan-3: Post-landing operations

Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover are planned to have a mission life of 1 lunar day, that is, approximately 14 earth days. But there is a possibility that the duo could live longer. ISRO has designed its lander and rover to harness solar power and charge its onboard batteries, but that would be possible only during the lunar day.

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After lunar day comes lunar night, when temperatures drop severely and go well below -150ºC. If the lander and rover survive the lunar night (14.75 earth days), it might be possible for them to get revived when the lunar day breaks and solar power is available, multiple ISRO officials told WION’s Senior Correspondent, Sidharth MP.

(With inputs from agencies)

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