Gallery: ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 Images The Moon
Apurva Mahajan August 23, 2023
Lander Position Detection Camera
Chandrayaan-3's Lander Position Detection Camera (LPDC) on the Vikram lander took this image Aug. 15 as the lander got a clearer and more close-up view of the lunar surface.
Lander Position Detection Camera
An additional view from the LPDC provides further insight into the terrain of the Moon and helps determine the lander's relative position.
Mare Marginis and Jansky F
Vikram's LPDC took more images on Aug. 19 from an altitude of about 70 km (43.4 miles). According to ISRO, these images help the lander determine its latitude and longitude by matching the positions against a moon reference map that is onboard.
Hirayama
The impact crater Hirayama is on the Moon's far side, shown here on Aug. 19 by the LPDC. Hirayama is located at the southernmost edge of Mare Smythii, a lunar mare along the lunar equator at the easternmost edge of the Moon's near side.
Craters and Oceanus Procellarum
This image, taken Aug. 6 by Chandrayaan-3's Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera (LHVC) aboard the Vikram lander, captures the craters Pythagoras, Aristarchus, Raman and Eddington, as well as the lunar mare Oceanus Procellarum. Also called the Ocean of Storms, Oceanus Procellarum is the largest of all the lunar maria, or seas, stretching over 1,600 mi. wide.
Lander Imager Camera 1
Just after Chandrayaan-3's lander module separated from the propulsion module on Aug. 17, the Lander Imager Camera 1 took this image. At the center of the image is Fabry, a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon.
Giordano Bruno and Harkhebi J
The craters Giordano Bruno and Harkhebi J are seen here in this image taken Aug. 17 by Chandrayaan-3's Lander Imager Camera 1. Further in the background, the Earth is barely seen peeking from behind the Moon.
Mare Humboldtianum
The Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC), developed by ISRO's Space Applications Centre, on Chandrayaan-3's lander Vikram takes images of the lunar surface beneath the lander during the mission's descent phase in order to pinpoint the best location to land. The ideal landing area does not have deep trenches or boulders, according to ISRO. This image taken Aug. 19 details Mare Humboldtianum on the far side of the Moon in the center of the Humboldtianum basin.
Hayn Crater
This is another image LHDAC took on Aug. 19, this time detailing the lunar impact crater Hayn, located northeast of Mare Humboldtianum on the northeast limb of the Moon.
Lander Imager Camera 4
The side of the actual lander as it orbits the Moon can be seen in this view from the Lander Imager Camera 4 captured on Aug. 20.
Lander Position Detection Camera
Chandrayaan-3's Lander Position Detection Camera (LPDC) on the Vikram lander took this image Aug. 15 as the lander got a clearer and more close-up view of the lunar surface.
Lander Position Detection Camera
An additional view from the LPDC provides further insight into the terrain of the Moon and helps determine the lander's relative position.
Mare Marginis and Jansky F
Vikram's LPDC took more images on Aug. 19 from an altitude of about 70 km (43.4 miles). According to ISRO, these images help the lander determine its latitude and longitude by matching the positions against a moon reference map that is onboard.
Hirayama
The impact crater Hirayama is on the Moon's far side, shown here on Aug. 19 by the LPDC. Hirayama is located at the southernmost edge of Mare Smythii, a lunar mare along the lunar equator at the easternmost edge of the Moon's near side.
Craters and Oceanus Procellarum
This image, taken Aug. 6 by Chandrayaan-3's Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera (LHVC) aboard the Vikram lander, captures the craters Pythagoras, Aristarchus, Raman and Eddington, as well as the lunar mare Oceanus Procellarum. Also called the Ocean of Storms, Oceanus Procellarum is the largest of all the lunar maria, or seas, stretching over 1,600 mi. wide.
Lander Imager Camera 1
Just after Chandrayaan-3's lander module separated from the propulsion module on Aug. 17, the Lander Imager Camera 1 took this image. At the center of the image is Fabry, a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon.
Giordano Bruno and Harkhebi J
The craters Giordano Bruno and Harkhebi J are seen here in this image taken Aug. 17 by Chandrayaan-3's Lander Imager Camera 1. Further in the background, the Earth is barely seen peeking from behind the Moon.
Mare Humboldtianum
The Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC), developed by ISRO's Space Applications Centre, on Chandrayaan-3's lander Vikram takes images of the lunar surface beneath the lander during the mission's descent phase in order to pinpoint the best location to land. The ideal landing area does not have deep trenches or boulders, according to ISRO. This image taken Aug. 19 details Mare Humboldtianum on the far side of the Moon in the center of the Humboldtianum basin.
Hayn Crater
This is another image LHDAC took on Aug. 19, this time detailing the lunar impact crater Hayn, located northeast of Mare Humboldtianum on the northeast limb of the Moon.
Lander Imager Camera 4
The side of the actual lander as it orbits the Moon can be seen in this view from the Lander Imager Camera 4 captured on Aug. 20.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)'s uncrewed lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, landed on the surface of the Moon Aug. 23, a little more than a month after its launch on July 14. Here is a sampling of images of the Moon ISRO released in anticipation of the landing attempt.