ISRO chairman S Somanath has revealed new dates for India’s manned space mission, Gaganyaan, and Chandrayaan-4, The Indian Express reported.
While delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture at Akashvani (All India Radio), Somanath announced updated timelines for several key upcoming missions – Gaganyaan expected in 2026, Chandrayaan-4 in 2028, and the long-awaited India-US joint NISAR mission likely next year.
The ISRO chairman revealed that a joint moon-landing mission with Japan’s space agency, JAXA, originally called LUPEX (Lunar Polar Exploration), will be called Chandrayaan-5 mission. While he did not specify a launch timeline, this mission was initially planned for a 2025 launch. However, with its reclassification as Chandrayaan-5, it is now expected to take place after 2028, following the scheduled Chandrayaan-4 mission.
Talking about Chandrayaan-5, Somanath said that the mission would be a heavy one. For this, India would provide the lander and Japan will provide the rover. “The rover on Chandrayaan-3 was only about 27 kg in weight. But this mission would carry a 350-kg rover. It is a science heavy mission which would take us one step closer to landing human beings on the moon,” he added.
Highlighting the importance of further indigenising space technologies, Somanath said that India aims to boost its share in the global space economy from the current 2 per cent to at least 10 per cent over the next decade.
