 "India to launch Chandrayaan-4 in 2027, aims to bring back moon rocks")
After the successful launch of Chandrayaan-3 in 2023, India is set to achieve another big milestone in space exploration with the launch of Chandrayaan-4 in 2027, marking the country’s first attempt to bring back samples from the moon’s surface.
Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh confirmed this mission, which will involve at least two separate launches of the heavylift LVM-3 rocket carrying five different components to be assembled in orbit. “The Chandrayaan-4 mission aims to collect samples from the moon’s surface and bring them back to the Earth,” Singh told news agency PTI.
Expanding India’s spacefront
The Chandrayaan-4 announcement comes alongside several other major projects. The minister confirmed that the Gaganyaan mission, India’s first crewed spaceflight, is on track for launch next year. The mission will send Indian astronauts to low-Earth orbit in a specially designed spacecraft and bring them back safely.
In addition, India will launch Samudrayaan in 2026, an undersea mission that will take three scientists in a submersible to explore the seabed at a depth of 6,000 metres. This mission is expected to unlock critical minerals, rare metals, and undiscovered marine biodiversity, essential for India's economic and environmental sustainability.
“This achievement will align with the timelines of India’s other landmark missions, including the Gaganyaan space mission, marking a pleasant coincidence in the nation's journey toward scientific excellence,” Singh stated.
India’s space infrastructure boom
The minister highlighted the rapid expansion of India’s space infrastructure, noting that ISRO was founded in 1969, but took more than two decades to establish its first launch pad in 1993. The second launch pad was set up in 2004, but the last ten years have seen unprecedented growth.
“We are now building a third launch pad and for the first time for heavier rockets, and expanding also beyond Sriharikota with a new launch site in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin district to launch small satellites,” Singh revealed.
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India’s space economy, currently valued at $8 billion, is expected to grow to $44 billion in the next decade. “With new infrastructure, increased private participation and record-breaking investments, India is poised for even greater achievements in the years to come,” the minister said.
Chandrayaan-3: A historic success
India’s space ambitions received a major boost with Chandrayaan-3’s historic success in August 2023, when the country became the first to land near the Moon’s South Pole. The 20 minutes of fear and tension during Vikram lander’s final descent carrying the Pragyan rover, ended in triumph, making India only the fourth country ever to achieve a soft lunar landing.
Six other missions attempted a soft landing that year, but none succeeded—including Russia’s Luna 25, which crashed just 48 hours before India’s historic touchdown. The first anniversary of the Chandrayaan-3 landing, August 23, was celebrated as National Space Day.
This achievement was even more remarkable considering India had to recover from the Chandrayaan-2 setback in 2019, when the mission failed in its final landing sequence. For this achievement, the ISRO scientists were honoured with the first-ever Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar prize.
[With inputs from PTI]