A video showing a spacecraft fly across the moon before making a soft landing on the lunar surface is being shared on social media, shortly after the successful landing of the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3.
What are users claiming?: Social media users are sharing it as footage of ISRO's Chandrayaan-3, as captured by the USA's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
An archive of this post can be seen here.
(Source: X/Screenshot)
How did we find out?: We took a screenshot of the viral video and ran a reverse image search on it.
A Google Lens search result led us to the same short clip which was published on a YouTube channel named Hazegreyart on 20 July 2023, titled 'Apollo 11 Moon Landing'.
We looked at more videos published on this channel and saw that they were mostly about space programs and exploration missions.
Here, we came across a longer version of the viral video, which was uploaded on 8 June 2021.
The video was published over two years before Chandrayaan-3 landed.
(Source: YouTubeAltered by The Quint)
The part of this video shared in the viral claim starts at the 42-second mark.
In the comments section under this video, many users commented on Hazegreyart's animation skills, implying that the video was an animated one.
Several viewers commented on the quality of the animation.
(Source: YouTubeAltered by The Quint)
We have reached out to Hazygreyart's for their inputs and will update this article with their response as and when it is received.
Misinformation surrounding Chandrayaan-3: Even before ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 took off for its historic lunar exploration mission, social media has been teeming with misinformation surrounding the programme and the craft.
Team WebQoof has debunked a range of claims, especially visuals, which have been incorrectly linked to Chandrayaan-3. For a quick rundown of some of this misinformation, read our article here.
Conclusion: An old video has gone viral with the false claim that it shows footage of Chandrayaan-3's landing, which was released by NASA.
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