India’s ambitious space missions, including Chandrayaan-4 and Gaganyaan, aim to propel the nation towards scientific excellence and economic growth

Here’s the latest on Chandrayaan‑4

• Launch Year: India is targeting 2027 for the Chandrayaan‑4 mission, which will be the country’s first-ever lunar sample‑return attempt
• Announced By: Union Science & Technology Minister Jitendra Singh confirmed this timeline in February 2025, stating ISRO will use two heavy‑lift LVM‑3 rockets to carry five mission components into orbit, assemble them there, land on the Moon, collect samples, and return them to Earth
• Mission Goals: The spacecraft is designed to return approximately 2–3 kg of lunar regolith from near the Shiv Shakti region close to the Moon’s south pole
• Mission Design: It will involve two separate launches, orbital docking, soft landing, ascent from the Moon, docking again, and Earth re‑entry – a significant step toward advanced space operations

History Chandrayaan

• Chandrayaan‑3 successfully landed in August 2023.
• Chandrayaan‑4 is approved and currently in the design/conceptual phase.
• ISRO plans to build on this mission’s technologies as stepping stones toward a potential crewed lunar landing by 2040