Fact-Check: This Image Was Released by ISRO and Not Taken by Sunita Williams

The photograph was shared by the Indian Space Research Organisation in January.

Fact-Check: This image was not taken by Williams, but by ISRO. 

(Source: The Quint) 

An image taken from Space is being shared to claim that it shows a photograph of the recently concluded Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, India, taken by Indian-origin American astronaut Sunita Williams.

The claim: Those sharing have written that Falguni Pandya, cousin of William, noted that she sent her this image of the Kumbh from space.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot) 

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false as this image has been taken by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and not Williams, as claimed.

What we found: At first, we cropped the image and removed the text and William's photo and then ran a Google reverse image search on it.

• We came across a story by the Hindustan Times which featured the same image as the viral photo.

• It noted, "ISRO has released satellite images showing massive infrastructure work for the 2025 Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj." (sic.)

Here is the image featured on HT's web stories. 

(Source: HT/Screenshot) 

• Similarly, the Indian Express also featured this image in their report and noted, "Three time series images also captured the Prayagraj Sangam and the zoomed section of the River Ganges showing temporary pontoon bridges." (sic.)

Here is the image featured on Indian Express's report.

(Source: Indian Express/Screenshot) 

• We, then, ran a relevant keyword search and found the document which was released by the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC).

Here is the preview of the document by the NRSC.

(Source: NRSC/Screenshot) 

• However, according to a report by NDTV, Pandya (William's cousin) said that she saw how Kumbh looked from space when the astronaut sent her an image of it.

Conclusion: The photo has been released by ISRO and not taken by Williams, as claimed.

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