India’s Lunar Mission Captures Images of Far Side of the Moon Ahead of Historic Landing

Chandrayaan-3 is India’s second attempt to land on the Moon. The first attempt didn’t go so well: Chandrayaan-2 crashed on the Moon in September 2019 due to an issue with its braking thrusters.

Chandrayaan-2 included a lander-rover duo, as well as an orbiter. The space agency lost contact with the Vikram lander when it was around 1.3 miles (2.1 kilometers) from the lunar surface, while the orbiter is still in operation around the Moon.

Ahead of the anticipated landing attempt, the Chandrayaan-3 began talking to its predecessor mission. India’s space agency established two-way communication between the Chandrayaan-3 lander module and the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter on Monday. This gives mission control an additional way of communicating with the lander.