NEW DELHI: Chandrayaan-4, India’s ambitious lunar sample-return mission recently cleared by the Centre, is expected to launch in 2028, ISRO chairman V. Narayanan has announced. He added that ISRO plans to launch seven more satellites this financial year, including the first industry-built PSLV.
Calling Chandrayaan-4 India’s most complex lunar mission yet, Narayanan said the project—also known as LUPEX (Lunar Polar Exploration Mission)—is a joint collaboration between ISRO and Japan’s space agency JAXA. The mission aims to explore the Moon’s polar regions for water and other resources while advancing technologies needed for operating landers and rovers in extreme lunar conditions. JAXA noted that developing these technologies is essential for the future of deep-space exploration.
Narayanan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed ISRO to work toward landing Indian astronauts on the Moon by 2040 and returning them safely. India’s plans come as the US prepares for crewed Artemis missions—likely beginning next year—and China targets 2030 for its first human lunar landing.
On the Gaganyaan human-spaceflight programme, Narayanan clarified that only the schedule for the uncrewed test missions has shifted. “The uncrewed mission was earlier targeted for 2025. The crewed mission has always been planned for 2027, and we are sticking to that timeline,” he said.
ISRO has also begun work on the Bharatiya Antariksha Station, India’s proposed space station slated for completion by 2035. “The first of its five modules will be placed in orbit by 2028,” Narayanan said. If completed, India would become the third country to operate a space station, as the ISS is set to be deorbited in 2030 and China’s Tiangong station continues to expand.
