Chandrayaan 3

Chandrayaan-3 is part of India's lunar exploration program conducted by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It includes a Vikram lunar lander, a Pragyan lunar rover, and a propulsion module. Launched on July 14, 2023, it entered lunar orbit on August 5 and made history by becoming the first lander to touch down near the lunar south pole on August 23, 2023. This achievement made India the fourth country to successfully land on the Moon. However, due to the lander's inability to withstand the cold temperatures of the lunar night, the surface mission ended twelve days after landing.

BOOM recently came across several misleading claims regarding Chandrayaan-3.

A viral video circulating on social media falsely claimed to show footage of Chandrayaan-3 captured by NASA. BOOM found that the video is actually an animation created to recreate the Apollo 11 moon mission by the United States in 1969. BOOM traced the video back to a YouTube channel that uploaded it in 2021, long before Chandrayaan-3's launch. The audio in the video is also from the Apollo space program.

News outlets shared an old clip of BBC journalist Aaron Heslehurst criticizing India's space mission, claiming it was about Chandrayaan-3. However, BOOM found the clip was from 2019, discussing Chandrayaan-2. The anchor questioned India's space spending amidst poverty. BBC's Press handle confirmed the video's age. BOOM found that the clip was from Videsh TV's YouTube channel from 2019, alongside a BBC report on Chandrayaan-2. BBC journalist Mukesh Sharma also confirmed the fake claim. BOOM's fact-check debunked the false clip to Chandrayaan-3.