Indian Moon lander beams back first images

As the Vikram lander of India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft approached the Moon’s south pole, it captured these spectacular shots as it descended to the unpredictable and heavily cratered surface. Tiny potholes become large craters, become unfathomable chasms as the lander moves closer to the surface, finally submitting to the Moon’s weak gravity. Then, the crowning achievement: the Pragyaan rover rolls out of the lander, down the ramp and onto the Moon, making India only the fourth country to land a probe on the Moon. Or, as Indian space agency ISRO put it, ‘India took a walk on the Moon.’ This ‘walk’ is scheduled to last for 14 days, and will involve the search for the Moon’s elusive, yet abundant water supplies.