Fact Check: Reports of Chandrayaan-3 landing on the moon and discovering pure water on its surface are false
Following the news of Chandrayaan-3 being launched on July 14 and entering the lunar orbit on August 5, unconfirmed reports of the spacecraft ‘successfully landing on the moon’ and ‘discovering pure water on the moon’s surface’ began popping up on the internet.
Chandrayaan-3 is yet to land on the moon and according to ISRO’s schedule, it will happen on August 23.
Netizens claim that Chandrayaan-3 has successfully landed on the moon, much ahead of the estimated schedule and has found pure water on the moon’s surface.
FACT CHECK:
There has been no official confirmation of the landing of the Chandrayaan-3 on the moon or the discovery of pure water on its surface. Neither the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) nor any official spokesperson has confirmed the news.
ISRO’s current timeline of Chandrayaan-3 clearly shows that the spacecraft has not yet landed on the moon. Based on the real-time update on August 6, the LBN#2 was successfully completed and on August 9, Chandrayaan-3's orbit was reduced to 174 km x 1437 km following another manoeuver.
Here is the footage of the Moon, as viewed by Chandrayaan-3 during the Lunar Orbit Insertion (on August 6). This clearly shows that the spacecraft has not yet landed on the moon.
According to the timeline in a report by the Hindustan Times, the scheduled date for the landing of Chandrayaan-3 on moon is August 23. “If everything goes well, a planned lunar touchdown attempt will be made at 5:47 pm when the spacecraft will travel the last 30 km distance.” However, ISRO says, there is the possibility of rescheduling for September, based on lunar factors.
Evidently, it is clear that the news of Chandrayaan-3 successfully landing on the moon and discovering pure water on the moon’s surface is false.