Fact check: Are these viral images of Earth really sent by Chandrayaan-2?

New Delhi, July 28: ISRO's Moon mission Chandrayaan-2, which is on its way to the Moon has made India proud. Chandrayaan 2 holds a distinguished significance as it will pin the country's flag across global space research.

A series of photos are viral on social media with the false claim that these photos of the earth were taken by the Chandraayan 2 spacecraft which was launched on July 22, 2019, by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

These images are being shared on WhatsApp with a caption that reads "First photograph of Earth sent by Chandrayaan 2. What an eye-catching visual it is!"

Chandrayaan-2: ISRO conducts second orbit raising manoeuvre

None of these are rare photographs that have been originally captured by Chandrayaan-2, and neither have they been released by ISRO.

Each of the images can be traced back to searches on Google under queries such as 'nightside of Earth from space', 'solar eclipse from moon', 'moon and earth art' and 'volcanic eruption from space', among others.

As per the latest update by Isro, the second earth-bound orbit-raising manoeuvre of the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft has been successfully performed early on Friday (July 26) morning.

The third orbit raising manoeuvre is scheduled for July 29 between 1430 - 1530 hrs (IST), ISRO said in an update on the Chandrayaaan-2 lunar mission.

The spacecraft is expected to enter the moon's orbit on August 20, and a soft landing is planned for September 7, according to ISRO's plans.