Next mission to Moon is with Japanese, more of Chandrayaan

Contact Counsellor

Last Updated25/08/2023

ISRO is preparing for one more lunar mission in collaboration with the Japanese space agency, JAXA.
This mission, called LUPEX or Lunar Polar Exploration is slated for 2024-25.

The mission will provide valuable insights into the lunar polar region and will help to pave the way for future human exploration of the Moon.
Objective
- It will explore the polar regions of the Moon venturing into the permanently shaded regions.
- It is also planned to investigate the abundance of water in the polar regions.
- It will explore the possibilities of locating a long-term station in these areas.
Components
- A rover and lander
- The lander will come from ISRO.
- The launch vehicle and rover are supposed to be contributed by the Japanese agency.

The rover will carry the instruments of ISRO and JAXA and also those of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
Proposed instruments
- Ahmedabad-based Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) has proposed multiple instruments.
  - To carry out measurements on the surface and subsurface near the permanently shadowed polar region of the Moon.
- Permittivity and Thermo-physical investigation for Moon’s Aquatic Scout (PRATHIMA)
- Lunar Electrostatic Dust EXperiment (LEDEX)

Sample Return Mission
- The next logical step to a lander and rover mission is a sample return mission.
- Maybe Chandrayaan-4 will be the sample return mission.
- A sample return mission involves a spacecraft that can collect samples from the Moon’s surface and return to Earth.
Aditya-L1
- It is India’s first mission to the Sun, which is slated for an early September launch.
- It is meant to study the different kinds of phenomena like solar corona, solar emissions, solar winds and flares, and coronal mass ejections.
ISRO is working on sending an Orbiter to Venus within the next two years.
The human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, is also being readied.
ISRO and NASA agreed to send a joint human spaceflight mission to the International Space Station by next year.