Chandrayaan-4: India’s first lunar sample return mission
Chandrayaan-4, scheduled for 2028, is one of India’s most anticipated upcoming missions. This mission aims to collect approximately 3 kilograms (about 6.6 pounds) of lunar samples from a water-ice-rich area near the moon’s south pole. Water ice in the lunar south pole is a prized resource, as it holds the potential to support life support systems and rocket fuel production, making it essential for long-term lunar exploration. Though the United States and Russia completed similar missions decades ago, Somanath highlighted that achieving this feat today is still both complex and costly. India, however, is determined to carry out this mission efficiently, with a budget of 21 billion rupees (roughly $250 million USD).Chandrayaan-4’s mission plan is highly intricate, relying on five spacecraft modules that will require two launches from ISRO’s powerful LVM-3 rocket. This setup includes modules for the lander, sample-collecting vehicle, transfer module, and a reentry module parked in lunar orbit to safely deliver the collected samples back to Earth. To practise in-orbit docking — a critical component of this mission — ISRO is set to launch a $14 million docking experiment (SPADEX) later this year or in early 2025, marking an essential step toward ensuring the mission's success.
A step beyond with Chandrayaan-5
Following Chandrayaan-4, ISRO plans to launch Chandrayaan-5 in collaboration with the Japanese space agency, JAXA. The joint mission aims to leverage strengths of both space agencies, with ISRO developing the lander and JAXA providing the rover.Shortly after Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander and Pragyan rover had landed near the Moon’s South Pole, Japan’s Smart Lander had landed upside down near the lunar equator. While theC-3’s rover failed to awaken after the lunar night, JAXA’s rover did survive the lunar night and even snapped pictures of the lunar surface after that!
This mission, also known as the Lunar Polar Exploration Project (LUPEX), will carry a 770-pound rover contributed by Japan, a significant upgrade from the 60-pound Pragyan rover deployed on Chandrayaan-3. Chandrayaan-5 will further strengthen India’s presence on the moon, targeting the resource-rich south pole, an area of growing international interest. The mission will come after Chandrayaan-4, but S Somnath has confirmed that the plan for the mission is ready already!
Gaganyaan: India’s first human spaceflight
Perhaps the most exciting of India’s upcoming space projects is Gaganyaan, a mission set to take India’s first astronauts to low Earth orbit by 2026. Originally scheduled for 2025, the timeline was extended to prioritise astronaut safety amid recent setbacks in the industry. Recognising the significance of this mission, the Indian government allocated an additional Rs 111 billion to Gaganyaan, bringing the program closer to launch.ISRO’s cautious approach includes a series of uncrewed test flights to evaluate critical systems. An uncrewed test flight, G1, is scheduled for December and will carry a humanoid robot named Vyomitra to test reentry, parachute deployment, and splashdown capabilities. Following G1, three more uncrewed missions will complete this rigorous testing phase. The mission’s crew, including Indian Air Force test pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, has been undergoing intensive training both in India and abroad, including a stint with Axiom Space at the International Space Station (ISS), where Shukla is training under former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson.
Meanwhile, ISRO’s ambitious roadmap also includes future goals to land astronauts on the moon by 2040 and potentially establish a moon base before 2050. With these projects, India is set to establish itself as a formidable force in space exploration. As Somanath expressed in a recent lecture in New Delhi, the next few years will be dedicated to designing, developing and executing these complex missions, marking a new chapter in India’s journey toward the stars.