False posts share Photoshop image of Indian Moon rover tyre tracks

This article is more than one year old.
Published on September 1, 2023 at 10:33
4 min read
By Devesh MISHRA, AFP India

Social media users have falsely claimed an image of tyre tracks with India's state emblem and space agency logo were genuine imprints left by the country's Moon rover after a successful landing on the lunar surface in August 2023. But the creator of the image in fact posted it hours before the landing and has clarified the image is not real.

The image was shared more than 1,200 times after it was posted here on X, formerly known as Twitter, on August 23, 2023.

It appears to show the black outline of India’s state emblem and the logo of the official Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) against a rough, grey surface (archived links here and here).

The English-language caption reads: "Image permanently imprinted on the surface of Moon today onward as Tyres of the rover has this imprint, as there is no air on moon hence these marks will be forever."

Screenshot of the false post, taken August 25, 2023

The claim circulated after India's Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully landed on the Moon's south pole on August 23, making the country the first to do so in a historic triumph for the world’s most populous nation and its ambitious space program.

The following day, a rover called Pragyan -- "wisdom" in Sanskrit -- rolled out of the lander, where it will amble around the relatively unmapped region and transmit images and scientific data over its two-week lifespan.

The image has been shared alongside similar false claims on Facebook here and here, as well as on X here.

Digital artwork

A close analysis of the image shared in the false posts showed it contains a watermark that reads "Krishanshu Garg".

A keyword search on X found the image was posted by a user called Krishanshu Garg, in response to photos posted by the ISRO of the Moon lander's descent on August 23 (archived link).

"Can't wait for this!" the user wrote.

Garg, a space enthusiast, told AFP he created the image using Photoshop.

"Being a space enthusiast, I too was waiting for the landing of Chandrayaan-3 and just before its landing, I posted this picture on my Instagram story," he said.

AFP found the image shared in the false post was uploaded to Garg's Instagram stories on August 23, alongside a countdown timer showing it was shared nine-hours, 20-minutes and 44-seconds ahead of touchdown (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison of the image in the false posts (left) and the image shared on Instagram by Garg (right), with the countdown timer highlighted by AFP:

Screenshot comparison of the image in the false posts (left) and the image shared on Instagram by Garg (right)

He posted clarifications to both his Instagram and X accounts urging people to stop spreading "fake news" after noticing the image circulating on social media in a false context following the successful Moon landing (archived links here and here).

His caption on Instagram reads, in part: "I've seen a lot of people claiming it to be 'Real Imprints' shared by ISRO. The moon imprints were designed as a countdown for the historic Chandrayaan-3 landing, and I've shared this with various electronic media channels."

Symbols on rover tyres

The Pragyan rover's tyres are embossed with India's state emblem and the ISRO logo, according to a video titled "Meet Pragyan — Chandrayaan 2’s Rover!" released by the Indian space agency on September 6, 2019 (archived link).

A simulation of the rover's tyre tracks can be seen at the video's two-minute, 45-second mark.

The image created by Garg shows the state emblem and the ISRO logo in an alternating pattern on a single tyre track, but the video shows the emblem and logo are imprinted in separate tracks.

Below is the screenshot comparison of the image shared in the false post (left) and ISRO’s YouTube video (right), with the separated symbols highlighted by AFP:

Screenshot comparison of the image shared in the false post (left) and ISRO’s YouTube video (right)

Similar images of the tracks the rover is expected to make can be seen on the ISRO website here and by the official account of Indian Aerospace Defence News on X here (archived links here and here).

The rover's tyre tracks on the Moon are visible in one photo released by the Indian space agency on X on August 28, after the rover came across a crater and was forced to retrace its path (archived link). The emblem and logo, however, are not visible in the image.

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