NEW DELHI: India and Japan on Friday signed an implementing arrangement for Chandrayaan-5, a joint lunar exploration mission aimed at studying water deposits on the Moon’s south pole. The agreement between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was inked during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Tokyo.
The pact was formally exchanged by JAXA vice-president Matsuura Mayumi and India’s ambassador to Japan Sibi George in the presence of both leaders.
At a joint press briefing with his Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba, PM Modi hailed the collaboration, saying:
“Our active participation has gone beyond the limits of the Earth and will become a symbol of mankind’s progress in space.”
Building on Chandrayaan-3’s Success
Modi recalled the global acclaim India received after Chandrayaan-3’s successful south pole landing in 2023, making India the first country to reach the region. He underlined that the next challenge was deeper exploration of areas believed to hold critical resources like water ice, vital for future space habitation and missions.
In an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun, Modi said:
“This will contribute to deepening our understanding of the permanently shadowed regions at the lunar south pole.”
The Mission
Under the Chandrayaan-5 framework:
- The spacecraft will be launched by JAXA’s H3-24L rocket.
- It will carry an ISRO-developed lander equipped with a Japan-made rover.
- The mission will house seven scientific instruments, including:
- A mass spectrometer from the European Space Agency (ESA)
- Neutron spectrometers from NASA
- Multiple instruments built by ISRO
Mission objectives include:
- Mapping water deposits on the lunar surface
- Drilling into lunar regolith to analyse water content, quality, and composition
- Conducting in-situ scientific experiments with spectrometers and sensors
It is designed as a 100-day mission, with scope for extension up to a year. The mission also proposes to explore portions of the Moon’s far side.
Collaborative Effort
The financial sanction for Chandrayaan-5 was granted on March 10 by the Modi government. Technical preparations have been in progress, with ISRO and JAXA holding their third face-to-face interface meeting in Bengaluru on May 13-14. The discussions involved senior officials, project leaders, and teams from ISRO, JAXA, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
M Ganesh Pillai, ISRO’s scientific secretary, congratulated both sides for the progress and stressed that the mission was not just about technology but also about fostering global scientific cooperation.
A New Era of Space Ties
Modi noted that the collaboration was also strengthening industry and startup ecosystems in both nations.
“This is creating an environment where innovation flows both ways — from labs to launchpads, and from research to real-world applications,” he said.
The Chandrayaan-5 pact adds a new dimension to India-Japan strategic cooperation, taking their partnership beyond Earth — and onto the Moon.
