A series of photos are viral on social media with the false claim that these photos of the earth were taken by the Chandrayaan 2 spacecraft which was launched on July 22, 2019, by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
BOOM received these images on its WhatsApp helpline number (7700906111) inquiring about their veracity.
Viral on Facebook
We also searched for Facebook posts with the below caption and found that it was viral on Facebook.
"First photograph of earth, sent by Chandrayan 2..... What an eye-catching visual it is"
Facebook post
Click here to view the post, and here for an archive.
FACT-CHECK
The stated mission of Chandrayaan 2 spacecraft is to land on the moon’s south polar region and not to take photographs in space of the earth as is being claimed with the viral images.
Image 1
A Google reverse image search threw up an illustration of the same image by Hana Gartstein which was hosted on NASA's website under 'Astronomy Picture of the Day' dating March 2, 2007.
Image 2
The image is a screen-grab from a 10 second animated Shutterstock video titled 'light over the morning Earth'.
Image 3
The image has been cropped and taken from a Shutterstock image created by illustrator Alan Uster titled 'Planet earth with sunrise and moon in space'.
Image 4
A Google reverse image search showed an article by The Telegraph dated February 26, 2017, that stated that the photo was taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) of a large plume of smoke, steam and ash erupting from the Sarychev volcano on the Kuril Islands, Russia.
Image 5
A reverse image search showed the image being used as a template for wallpapers and not an real photo clicked in space.
Image 6
A reverse image search showed results dating back to 2014 where the image has been used on several website. However, the source of the image is unclear.
Image 7
The image is a visualization of the Earth's south pole and Antarctica from NASA and was created by a computer using information from several satellites.
Also Read: Religious Ceremony Performed Before Agni-V Test Launch Shared As Chandrayaan 2
Also Read: From Earth to Mars: The ISRO Story