What It Looked Like When India Landed on the Moon

India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission landed on the moon on Aug. 23.

There was no guarantee that the lander would make it in one piece. A previous Indian vehicle crashed in 2019 as it headed to the lunar surface, as did spacecraft from Russia and a Japanese company this year.

A three-minute video released by the Indian space agency shows how the Vikram lander descended, hovered, searched for a suitable landing site and finally touched down.

The video is sped up compared to the actual landing

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Once on the surface, the lander operated for almost two weeks, from lunar sunrise to sunset.

Sleep mode · Sept. 4

As lunar night descended on the landing site, the Vikram rover was put into sleep mode. Both the lander and rover have a chance of waking up again after the sun rises on Sept. 22.

Hop · Sept. 3

The Vikram lander performed a short hopping maneuver, firing its engines and touching down again about 30–40 centimeters (12–16 inches) away.

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Rover in sleep mode · Sept. 2

The Pragyan rover was put into sleep mode before the lunar night, with its vertical solar panel oriented to catch the next sunrise on Sept. 22.

Since it was deployed on Aug 23, the rover has traveled more than 100 meters (328 feet).

Doughnuts · Aug. 31

The Vikram lander filmed the Pragyan rover spinning in place while searching for a safe route.

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Looking back · Aug. 30

The Pragyan rover turned to photograph the Vikram lander. Along with four legs and a ramp, two of Vikram’s instruments are visible touching the lunar surface.

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The ChaSTE instrument, piercing the surface between the two left legs, is a thin probe that measures temperatures at different depths in the lunar topsoil. ILSA, in shadow between the two right legs, measures seismic activity.

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Reversing direction · Aug. 27

The Pragyan rover retraced its steps after approaching a 4 meter (13 foot) crater.

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Roving · Aug. 25

Pragyan moved around 8 meters (26 feet) across the surface. The rover’s rear wheels are designed to leave imprints of the Indian space agency’s logo and the Indian national emblem.

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Rolling onto the surface · Aug. 23

The Pragyan rover rolled a ramp down and onto the lunar surface. The rover has six wheels and is 92 centimeters (3 feet) long.

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Deploying a ramp · Aug. 23

The Vikram lander lowered a ramp to touch the lunar surface, and the Pragyan rover raised its solar panel.

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Seen from orbit · Aug. 23

The Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, which has been circling the moon since 2019, spotted the Vikram lander on the surface.

Below, two images taken 8 hours apart. The lander is a white dot casting a long shadow.

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The landing site · Aug. 23

An image released shortly after landing showed a shadow from Vikram’s legs and the relatively flat terrain of the landing site.

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Landing · Aug. 23

A composite of four images taken by the Vikram lander as it descended to the surface.

The New York Times

Entering lunar orbit · Aug. 5

Chandrayaan-3 entered lunar orbit after a leisurely, fuel-saving route from Earth.

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Separation · July 14

A camera captured the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft as it separated from the launch vehicle in Earth’s orbit.

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Liftoff · July 14

Chandrayaan-3 launched from Sriharikota, a launch site off of India’s East Coast, on a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III rocket.

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