In radar photographs taken from lunar orbit, India’s Chandrayaan-3 moon lander is seen

New images taken by a different spacecraft in orbit highlight the Indian Chandrayaan-3 mission, which arrived on the moon on August 23. Another moon mission from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Chandrayaan-2, which arrived in lunar orbit in 2019, captured radar images that show the lander.

India’s new moon lander and rover have recently been found by another lunar probe. (Photo: Shangahi Daily)

Chandrayaan-3 lander is not in operation

In a report from space.com, based on information collected three days prior, ISRO published the updated imagery on Saturday (September 9) on X (formerly known as Twitter). The near side of the moon, where the mission landed, is currently in darkness for two weeks, thus the Chandrayaan-3 lander is not in operation. As a result, all the solar-powered equipment is in hibernation.

However, according to ISRO officials, Chandrayaan-3’s lander and its small ridealong rover have accomplished all of their primary goals. It is possible that they will awaken when sunlight returns. After successfully launching from its lander, Vikram, the rover, Pragyan, took images of the surroundings.

The Indian lunar mission has previously been photographed from space. The historic mission was caught earlier this month by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which collects high-definition photos of the moon while in orbit.

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India is not the first nation to attempt a moon landing recently

After the Soviet Union, the United States, and China, India is the only other country to have ever set foot on the moon. But other missions might be dispatched soon. Some of the robotic probes NASA has sponsored in support of its Artemis program might land as early as 2023.

Shine reported that India is not the first nation to attempt a moon landing recently. For instance, last month Russia attempted to launch its own lander, but the Luna-25 probe shattered during a touchdown-setup maneuver. Private businesses in Israel and Japan have recently made attempts as well, and Japan’s government space agency just launched a lunar lander dubbed SLIM that will make an attempt at a touchdown in a few months.

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