The Indian space agency has shared more images of the Moon taken from a 70-km distance by the country's ambitious lunar mission Chandrayaan-3. The images were captured by a camera tasked with guiding the lander during its historic touchdown tomorrow.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) also shared a mission update along with the latest images of the Moon.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
The mission is on schedule.
Systems are undergoing regular checks.
Smooth sailing is continuing.
The Mission Operations Complex (MOX) is buzzed with energy & excitement!
The live telecast of the landing operations at MOX/ISTRAC begins at 17:20 Hrs. IST… pic.twitter.com/Ucfg9HAvrY
— ISRO (@isro) August 22, 2023"Chandrayaan-3 Mission: The mission is on schedule. Systems are undergoing regular checks. Smooth sailing is continuing. The Mission Operations Complex (MOX) is buzzed with energy & excitement," it said.
The images were captured on Saturday by Lander Position Detection Camera (LPDC) from an altitude of about 70 km. The camera helps the lander module determine its position by matching them against an onboard moon reference map, ISRO said.
The live telecast of the landing operations will begin at 5:20 pm tomorrow, it added.
The ISRO shared images of the far side of the Moon yesterday, showing some of its prominent craters. Those images were taken by a camera tasked to help the Vikram lander find a safe landing area.
The lander is expected 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.
