Chandrayaan-2's Imaging Infrared Spectrometer (IIRS) on Thursday sent a first illuminated image of the lunar surface. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) posted the picture on its official Twitter handle.

It was acquired by IIRS onboard Chandrayaan-2. The image covers part of the lunar farside in the northern hemisphere.

The main objective of the IIRS payload is to understand the origin and evolution of the Moon by mapping the lunar surface mineral and volatile composition using signatures in the reflected solar spectrum. The IIRS has been designed to measure reflected sunlight from the lunar surface in narrow and contiguous spectral channels.

The ISRO is mulling to send Mars Orbiter to the MARS in 2022-2023. The mission has been named as Mars Orbiter Mission 2 (MOM2).