Centre Nod To Chandrayaan-5 Mission, To Carry 250 Kg Rover To Lunar Surface

New Delhi: The Central government has approved the Chandrayaan 5 mission, and it will carry a whopping 250 kg rover to the lunar surface, said the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman V Narayanan.

It will be the fifth flight as part of the Chandrayaan programme, also known as the Indian Lunar Exploration Programme, and aims for the exploration of the Moon.

The Chandrayaan-3 was a resounding success making India the first country in the world to make a soft landing on the South Pole of the Moon. India also became the fourth nation after the erstwhile USSR (now Russia), the US, and China to make a soft landing on the Moon.

While Chandrayaan-3 carried a 25-kg rover named ‘Prayagyaan,’ the new Chandrayaan-5 mission, in collaboration with Japan, will feature a much heavier 250-kg rover. “This advanced rover aims to conduct detailed studies of the Moon’s surface and composition,” said Narayanan.

“Just three days back, we got the approval for the Chandrayaan-5 mission. We will be doing it in association with Japan.” The collaboration is expected to enhance the mission's scientific capabilities.

The Chandrayaan programme has been instrumental in India's lunar exploration and a lunar orbiter, an impactor, a soft lander, and a rover spacecraft.

Chandrayaan-1 was launched in 2008 and was a success. It mapped the Moon's surface chemically, mineralogically, and photo-geologically. However, Chandrayaan-2, launched in 2019, encountered setbacks during its final stages. However, its orbiter continues to send hundreds of high-resolution images.

ISRO aims to launch Chandrayaan-4 by 2027, to collect and return lunar samples.

The space agency also aims to launch Chandrayaan 5, and 6 by the next decade -- with an aim "to achieve the milestone of a $44 billion space sector by 2035”.