Chandrayaan-1 Sends Solar Eclipse Images

Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar mission, has captured images of the solar eclipse on July 22, 2009.

The images show the shadow of the Moon spreading over the Earth's surface, from northeastern China to northern Australia

According to S. Satish, director of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the images were taken by Chandrayaan-1's special terrain mapping camera (TMC).

In April/May of 2009, Chandrayaan-1's star sensor experienced a malfunction which caused the spacecraft to lose its orientation and become overheated. Scientists solved the problem by using gyroscopes to orient the craft and moving it to a higher orbit.