Recent images captured by India’s Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter have provided remarkable new views of the Apollo moon landing sites, more than five decades after the historic missions. Photos taken in April 2021 and shared on space exploration platforms clearly depict the remnants of the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 lunar modules on the Moon’s surface.
These high-resolution images show the landing vehicles left behind by the first human missions to the Moon. Apollo 11’s lunar module, Eagle, which carried astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in July 1969, and Apollo 12’s lunar module, Intrepid, are now visible from orbit. This imagery offers a fascinating perspective on the long-lasting physical legacy of the Apollo program.
The Apollo 11 mission marked the first time humans set foot on the Moon, with Armstrong and Aldrin walking on the lunar surface while astronaut Michael Collins orbited above. Apollo 12 followed in November 1969, with Charles “Pete” Conrad and Alan Bean becoming the third and fourth humans to land on the Moon.
These recent photos serve as a visual confirmation of the moonscapes left by the Apollo astronauts, reaffirming the historic achievements of these missions. India’s Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, launched in 2019, continues to contribute to lunar exploration, yet it has also inadvertently provided these stunning images of mankind’s first steps on another world.
