NASA shares image of India's Vikram lander on Moon spotted by its lunar orbiter

India's Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission is as significant as it is beloved by over a billion Indians after its Vikram lander achieved a successful Moon landing near the lunar south pole on August 23.

Most of the world celebrated as India became the first nation to achieve a successful soft landing near the moon's south pole. Now a NASA spacecraft in lunar orbit captured a captivating top-down view of Chandrayaan-3's Vikram Lander.

Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander touched down on August 23, and NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) flew over the landing site four days later, providing a distant view with its LRO Camera.

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NASA released the image, with the lander appearing small against the moon's textured landscape, yet the mission's impact is evident.

NASA marked the landing site with a white square, and within it, one can spot Vikram represented by a dark shadow surrounded by lighter material, created by the rocket plume interacting with lunar soil during landing.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter imaged the Chandrayaan-3 landing site on the Moon’s surface | NASA Artemis

Chandrayaan-3 mission achieved its primary objective by demonstrating a safe and soft lunar landing.

The mission's predecessor, Chandrayaan-2, crashed during its landing attempt in 2019, witnessed by LRO, which captured the debris field. This stands in contrast to the new image of the intact Chandrayaan-3 lander.

Meanwhile, it’s bedtime for Chandrayaan-3'srover Pragyanafter a ten-day exploration spree on the lunar surface and completing all its assignments.

Also watch |Chandrayaan 3: Vikram lander exceeds Chandrayaan-3 mission goals, with a hop

"Chandrayaan-3 Mission: The Rover completed its assignments. It is now safely parked and set into Sleep mode. APXS and LIBS payloads are turned off. Data from these payloads is transmitted to the Earth via the Lander," India's space agency posted on X last week.

Chandrayaan-3: ISRO's next focus

ISRO’s next focus will be to revive the mission once the next lunar day begins on September 22.

Its battery is fully charged and its solar panels are aligned in a way to help it receive solar light.

“Currently, the battery is fully charged. The solar panel is oriented to receive the light at the next sunrise expected on September 22, 2023. The receiver is kept on. Hoping for a successful awakening for another set of assignments! Else, it will forever stay there as India’s lunar ambassador,” the ISRO posted.

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