ISRO posts photo of 'Vikram' lander clicked by Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, deletes it moments later

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday reportedly posted a high-quality photo of the Vikram lander clicked by the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, only to delete it later on.

“I spy you! ��” Isro posted on X. “Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter ��photoshoots Chandrayaan-3 Lander!” “Chandrayaan-2's Orbiter High-Resolution Camera (OHRC), -- the camera with the best resolution anyone currently has around the moon – spots Chandrayaan-3 Lander after the landing on 23/2³/23,” media reports quoted the space agency as saying on a social media platform.

The ISRO on August 21 said a two-way communication has been established between Chandrayaan-2 orbiter and Chandrayaan-3 mission's lander module. The space agency also said the Mission Operations Complex had now more routes to communicate with the lander.


In other words, the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter will be the backup communication channel for ISRO with the lander.

The moon rover of India's Chandrayaan-3 exited the spacecraft on Thursday morning to begin its exploration of the lunar surface. The spacecraft landed on the unexplored south pole of the moon on Wednesday evening, days after Russia's Luna-25 failed, making India the first country to achieve that feat.

"The Ch-3 Rover ramped down from the Lander and India took a walk on the moon!" the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in its message.

Accomplished with a budget of about 6.15 billion Indian rupees ($74.58 million), this was India's second attempt to touch down on the moon. A previous mission in 2019, Chandrayaan-2, successfully deployed an orbiter but its lander crashed.

Chandrayaan means "moon vehicle" in Hindi and Sanskrit.