New Delhi: India will launch the Chandrayaan-4 mission in 2027 to bring back uncontaminated lunar samples, Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh announced. The mission will require at least two launches using the LVM-3 rocket to transport and assemble five different components in orbit.
Chandrayaan-4’s Objective: Bringing Moon Samples to Earth
Chandrayaan-4 aims to collect and return lunar samples, a first for India’s space program. The country has previously launched three Moon missions—Chandrayaan-1 (2008), Chandrayaan-2 (2019), and Chandrayaan-3 (2023). While the first two focused on studying the Moon’s surface and exosphere, Chandrayaan-3 achieved a successful soft landing and conducted in-situ analysis of the lunar surface in the southern polar region.
Former ISRO Chairman S Somanath had earlier indicated a possible 2028 launch for Chandrayaan-4, but the latest announcement confirms a 2027 timeline.
Other Upcoming Space Missions
India has several other space missions in the pipeline:
Gaganyaan (2026): The country’s first human spaceflight mission will send astronauts to low-Earth orbit and bring them back safely.
Samudrayaan (2026): A deep-sea mission will deploy a submersible to explore the seabed at a depth of 6,000 meters.
Venus Orbiter Mission (2028): This mission will study Venus’ atmosphere and surface conditions.
Before Gaganyaan’s crewed mission, an uncrewed test flight carrying Vyommitra, a humanoid robot, is scheduled for this year. Vyommitra will simulate human functions in space to test the life support system.
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