WATCH: Stunning Glimpses Of Moon Captured By Chandrayaan 3

On Sunday, the first glimpse at the Moon as seen by the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft during Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) was unveiled.

Visuals of the Moon as viewed by Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft were revealed on Sunday, a day after the spacecraft safely entered lunar orbit. Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter), ISRO stated: “The Moon, as viewed by Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft during Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) on August 5, 2023."

"The spacecraft successfully underwent a planned orbit reduction maneuver. The retrofiring of engines brought it closer to the Moon's surface, now to 170 km x 4313 km," ISRO tweeted.

"I am feeling lunar gravity," read Chandrayaan-3's transmission to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday, following a successful manoeuvre that moved it closer to the moon, a crucial milestone in the space agency's ambitious Rs 600 million mission.

"MOX, ISTRAC, this is Chandrayaan-3," the ISRO said in a transmission sent by the spacecraft to its facilities. 

On August 4, Chandrayaan-3 has travelled two-thirds of the way between Earth and the Moon. Chandrayaan-3 entered the Moon's zone of influence on August 1 after successfully completing an orbit-raising manoeuvre known as a perigee burn. A perigee burn allows a spacecraft to increase its orbit.

Chandrayaan-3 completed its orbit around Earth in the early hours of August 1, after which it was put into translunar orbit.

The journey to the Moon of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft began when ISRO's largest and heaviest rocket, the Launch Vehicle Mark III (LVM3), launched India's third lunar exploration mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. 

ISRO hopes to softly land Chandrayaan-3's lander on the Moon's south pole. If this is accomplished, India would become the fourth country to conduct a soft landing on the Moon, as well as the first to land a spacecraft on the Moon's south pole.

The Earth-centric phase, the lunar transfer phase, and the Moon-centric phase are the three phases of Chandrayaan-3. 

The Earth-centric phase, also known as Phase-1, consists of the pre-launch phase, the launch and ascent phase, and the Earth-bound manoeuvre phase, which will assist the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft in changing directions. 

The lunar transfer phase comprises the transfer trajectory phase, during which Chandrayaan-3 selected the path that will send it to lunar orbit.