India unveils first images from Moon mission (VIDEO)

The footage was taken on approach, ahead of a planned landing later this month

India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft has accomplished its first Moon-bound orbit reduction maneuver, following its successful orbit insertion a day earlier, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Sunday.

A video shared by the Chandrayaan-3 team on Twitter/X shows spectacular views of the Moon that were captured by the spacecraft's on-board camera during the insertion burn.

The next operation to further reduce the orbit is scheduled for August 9. After the de-orbiting maneuvers, the spacecraft will attempt a soft landing on the Moon’s surface on August 23.

The Moon, as viewed by #Chandrayaan3 spacecraft during Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) on August 5, 2023.#ISRO pic.twitter.com/xQtVyLTu0c

— LVM3-M4/CHANDRAYAAN-3 MISSION (@chandrayaan_3) August 6, 2023

Chandrayaan-3, the third Indian lunar exploration mission, was launched on July 14 and is aimed at landing softly on the Moon’s surface.

READ MORE: India’s Moon rush: the lowdown on the top scientists making New Delhi’s ambitions fly

If the mission is successful, India will have become the fourth country to have achieved a soft lunar landing, joining the US, the Soviet Union and China. It will also have the unique distinction to be the first nation to land on the lunar south pole.