NEW DELHI (XINHUA) - India's second Moon Mission, or Chandrayaan-2, which was launched on July 22, has sent its first pictures of the Earth, tweeted the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday (Aug 4).

The Indian space agency tweeted a total of five pictures taken by Chandrayaan-2.

"First set of beautiful images of the Earth captured by Chandrayaan2's Vikram Lander. Earth as viewed by Chandrayaan-2 'LI4' Camera on Aug. 3," tweeted ISRO.

The Moon Mission has so far completed four of the total five orbits of Earth. The fifth and last orbit it is slated to complete will be on Aug 6.

The first set of pictures tweeted by ISRO evoked joyful comments from among its countrymen on Twitter.

The "Lander" and the "Rover" are expected to touch down near the Lunar South Pole in early September.

If successfully carried out, India would become the fourth country, following the United States, Russia and China, to make a soft landing on the moon surface.

The mission, costing nearly US$150 million (S$206 million), aims to gather data on water, minerals and rock formations on the lunar surface.