Chandrayaan-3: First photos of Moon taken by lander Vikram during its descent

The Pragyan rover, which was safely housed within the Vikram lander, has now rolled out onto the Moon's surface.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), officially declared the successful landing in a post on X, saying, "'India, I reached my destination and you too!': Chandrayaan-3."

Following this, in a post on X, Isro wrote, "The communication link is established between the Ch-3 Lander and MOX-ISTRAC, Bengaluru. Here are the images from the Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera taken during the descent."

India has become the fourth nation in the world to successfully land a rover on the Moon, after the United States, Russia, and China, etching its name in the annals of lunar exploration.

The rover, which is about the size of a microwave oven, is designed to travel up to 500 meters (1,640 feet) on the lunar surface.

Moreover, it will conduct experiments to study the Moon's geology, mineralogy, and atmosphere.

The Pragyan rover is expected to operate for one lunar day, which is about 14 Earth days. It will be powered by solar panels and will communicate with the Chandrayaan-3 orbiter.

Meanwhile, PM Modi attended the landing programme from Johannesburg through video conferencing.