1 month ago
India‑Japan Chandrayaan‑5 Mission Advances Technical Coordination Ahead of 2028 Launch
Scientists from Japan and India are working together on a new space mission called Chandrayaan‑5.
They are making sure the rover that will travel on the Moon and the lander that will bring it down can talk to each other and share data.
The mission will launch in 2028 and will study water and ice on the Moon’s south pole.
NASA and the European Space Agency will also bring instruments to help with the experiments.
The Indian government gave the money for the mission in March 2025.
JAXA scientists visited India’s UR Rao Satellite Centre to finalize interface control specifications for Chandrayaan‑5’s rover and lander.
The joint mission, slated for launch in 2028 on JAXA’s H3 rocket, will carry seven scientific instruments, including NASA neutron spectrometers and ESA mass spectrometer.
ISRO will build the lander and develop some instruments, while JAXA will develop the rover and its payloads.
The mission aims to map lunar water and ice distribution in permanently shadowed regions of the Moon’s south pole.
Funding approval was granted by the Indian government on March 10 2025, and the teams are conducting regular technical coordination meetings.
- Who
- Scientists from JAXA and ISRO
- What
- Finalizing interface control specifications and technical coordination for Chandrayaan‑5
- Where
- UR Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru, India
- When
- Meetings held in May 2025; launch planned for 2028
- Why
- To ensure a successful joint lunar mission that studies water resources
Key facts
- Mission name
- Chandrayaan‑5 (LUPEX)
- Partners
- JAXA and ISRO
- Launch vehicle
- JAXA H3 rocket
- Planned launch
- 2028
- Mission objective
- Map lunar water and ice at the Moon’s south pole
- Key instruments
- NASA neutron spectrometers, ESA mass spectrometer, seven other payloads
- Funding approval
- March 10 2025
Quotes
JAXA official
Representative from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
“ISRO, apart from developing the lunar lander, is also responsible for developing a few scientific instruments for the mission. The approval for the Chandrayaan-5/LUPEX mission was received from the government of India on March 10, 2025, in the form of financial sanction.”
theprint.in
“We are currently conducting technical coordination regarding the IC (interface control specifications) between the ISRO lander and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) rover, as well as the IC for the observation instruments onboard the rover.”
theprint.in
Sources
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