New Delhi: The Union government has approved the ambitious Chandrayaan-5 mission, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan announced at an event to celebrate his new role.
“Just three days ago, we received approval for the Chandrayaan-5 mission. We will be undertaking it in collaboration with Japan,” he said.
Besides partnering with Japan to study the Moon, the other key highlight is to use a significantly heavier rover than its predecessors.
Chandrayaan-5 will feature a 250 kg rover, compared to the 25 kg ‘Pragyan’ rover used in Chandrayaan-3 mission two years ago.
India’s Chandrayaan programme, for lunar exploration, was launched in 2008.
Chandrayaan-1 mapped the Moon’s surface chemically, mineralogically, and photo-geologically.
Chandrayaan-2, launched in 2019, was 98 per cent successful but encountered setbacks during its final stages. Its orbiter is still sending hundreds of high-resolution images.
Chandrayaan-3 was a landmark mission, as India achieved a soft landing on the Moon’s South Pole – for the first time by any country. Vikram lander and Pragyan rover were placed in hibernation mode due to the lunar night, which lasts about 14 Earth days, to conserve energy and protect the instruments from extreme cold.
As for Chandrayaan-4, ISRO plans to launch it in 2027 to collect and return lunar samples.
ISRO is also working on Gaganyaan mission to send Indian astronauts into space. The goal is to establish its own space station, the Bharatiya Space Station.
