Chandrayaan-3 lander is in the center of the image, its dark shadow is visible against the bright halo surrounding the vehicle. The image is 1,738 meters wide, frame No. M1447750764LR. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University.

NASA's LRO—the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter—spacecraft imaged the Chandrayaan-3 landing site on the moon's surface.

The ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the moon on Aug. 23, 2023. The Chandrayaan-3 landing site is located about 600 kilometers from the moon's South Pole.

The LROC (short for LRO Camera) acquired an oblique view (42-degree slew angle) of the lander four days later. The bright halo around the vehicle resulted from the rocket plume interacting with the fine-grained regolith (soil).

Provided by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center