Amid Countdown To Touchdown, Chandrayaan-3 Shares Fresh Images Of Moon

The Vikram lander is expected to touch down on the Moon’s surface on Wednesday.

The latest images of the Moon taken by the Chandrayaan-3’s lander identified some of the prominent craters on its far side, which always faces away from the Earth.

The images were taken by a camera tasked to help the Vikram lander find a safe landing area ahead of its historic touchdown on the unexplored lunar south polar region on Wednesday evening.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:

Here are the images of
Lunar far side area
captured by the
Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC).

This camera that assists in locating a safe landing area — without boulders or deep trenches — during the descent is developed at… pic.twitter.com/hw2ML4xCY5

— ISRO (@isro) August 21, 2023

“Here are the images of Lunar far side area captured by the Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC). This camera that assists in locating a safe landing area — without boulders or deep trenches — during the descent is developed at SAC/ISRO,” said Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The images, captured last Saturday, identified the craters: Hayn, Boss L, Mare Humboldtianum, and Bel’kovich.

The far side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere which always faces away from Earth due to the synchronous rotation in the Moon’s orbit.

The lander is scheduled to touch down on the Moon’s south polar region at 6:04 pm on Wednesday. If successful, India will join US, Russia, and China as only the fourth country to achieve this feat.

Click here to check how to watch the historic moment live.