Image showing the imprints of Indian emblem and ISRO logo etched on the moon’s surface is not real

The viral image is digitally created using the photo editing tool, as confirmed by its creator.

The successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moon on 23 August  has created an atmosphere of joy across the country. India achieved the remarkable feat of becoming the first country to land near the south pole of the Moon. Following this users have also been sharing various photos and videos related to the moon mission on social media. Among this an image showing Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) logo and India’s national emblem imprinted on a rough surface is going viral on social media.The claim states that this was imprinted by the tyres of Chandrayaan-3 rover on the moon surface. The caption states “Image permanently imprinted on the surface of Moon today onward as Tyres of rover has this imprint, as there is no air on moon hence these marks will be forever”. 

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The post was widely shared on Twitter as well

Fact Check- 

When we began our investigation using the Google reverse image method, we were unable to find any official images provided by the ISRO on any of its pages. Later we examined the image from a different viewpoint, we discovered a watermark in the lower left corner. Finally, we came across a sentence with the name ‘Krishanshu Garg’ on the bottom left.

Keeping this in mind, we looked for Krishanshu Garg’s social media profiles and found his Instagram  account. There we found a post he made on August 24 stating that the viral image was the art work made by him. 

His post reads as “I’m deeply grateful for the overwhelming response to my artwork, and I want to express my appreciation for your support in making it go viral! However 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 Chandrayan-3 Landing, and I’ve shared this with various electronic media channels. Please stop forwarding fake news regarding this. Your excitement is inspiring, and I’m thankful for every like and share. Let’s keep the excitement alive and continue to look forward to the upcoming ISRO achievements”.

When we contacted Krishanshu Garg, he confirmed that he created the artwork as a countdown to the lunar landing, but it went viral with false claims that it was the Ashoka Pillar and ISRO logo on the moon. His clarifying message is shown below.

Meanwhile, we checked if there are any official images of ‘imprints’ shared by ISRO. The latest post states “and here is how the Chandrayaan-3 Rover ramped down from the Lander to the Lunar surface”.

Conclusion- 

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral image to be False. The viral image of imprints of the Indian emblem and ISRO logo on the moon circulated on social media are not real. The viral image is digitally created using the photo editing tool, as confirmed by its creator.