Days before Chandrayaan-3's lander Vikram is set to touch down on the surface of the Moon, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Monday said that it has established a two-way-communication with the orbiter of the mission's predecessor-Chandrayaan 2.

Though the lander of Chandrayaan-2 mission was lost, PRADAN, the orbiter, is currently in a 100 km x 100 km orbit around the Moon.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), ISRO said that the orbiter sent a welcome message to lander Vikram, which is due to land on the far side of the Moon on Aug 23.

"'Welcome, buddy!' Ch-2 orbiter formally welcomed Ch-3 LM. Two-way communication between the two is established. MOX has now more routes to reach the LM," the space agency said in its post.

The soft landing of the third Lunar Mission Chandrayaan-3 will take place at 1804 hrs on Aug 23.

The Indian space agency announced that the powered descent for soft landing will take place at 1745 hrs.

Amid the countdown to the touchdown, ISRO has shared some fresh images of the Moon which have been taken by Chandrayaan-3 lander.

The lander has identified some of the craters on its far side facing away from the Earth.

After Sunday's crucial manoeuvre, the spacecraft was now located at about 25 km x 134 km.