FACT CHECK: No, India Did Not Fake Its Lunar Lander Landing

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

A post shared on X, the platform formerly known as X, claims that India faked its lunar lander landing.

Verdict: False

The video shown is a simulation, not the actual landing. The actual landing is real.

Fact Check:

India landed a lunar lander and a probe on the moon on August 23, becoming the first country to land a spacecraft on the moon’s southern polar region, according to The New York Times. This came after Russia’s lunar lander crashed on the surface of the moon, the outlet reported.

Social media users have been sharing a video claiming that the actual landing had been faked. One prominent post claims that “India fakes moon landing.” (RELATED: Breaking Down Joe Biden’s Claim That Clean Energy Will Make Up 80% Of the Energy Grid By 2030)

This claim, however, is false. The video itself is a simulation and does not show the actual landing. The video is captioned “Watch a live simulation of the moment India’s Chandrayaan-3 lands on the Moon” by BBC News.

Actual images of the landing have been published and live-streamed. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) also live-streamed part of the landing, though the video shows images.

The ISRO also published several images from the mission on its X account. Check Your Fact did not find any media outlets reporting that the landing was faked. Lead Stories also debunked this claim.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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