India's Lunar Programme
Chandrayaan and Gaganyaan Context
India's space exploration ambitions run parallel to the global lunar renaissance. ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 (August 2023) achieved a soft landing near the Moon's south pole — a region of scientific interest for water-ice — making India the fourth nation to soft-land on the Moon and the first to land near the south pole. India is now developing Chandrayaan-4 (a lunar sample return mission) and Gaganyaan (India's first crewed spaceflight programme), placing ISRO as a significant actor in the international space landscape.
- Chandrayaan-1 (2008): India's first lunar orbiter; detected water molecules on the Moon (confirmed presence of hydroxyl and H2O).
- Chandrayaan-2 (2019): Orbiter success; Vikram lander crash-landed — partial mission.
- Chandrayaan-3 (August 23, 2023): Successful soft landing at 69°S latitude near the lunar south pole; Pragyan rover deployed.
- India: 4th country to soft-land on Moon (after USSR, USA, China); 1st to land near the south pole.
- Chandrayaan-4: Planned lunar sample return mission using dual-launch architecture and in-space docking.
- Gaganyaan: India's first crewed spaceflight programme; astronaut training at Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre (Russia) and at NASAs facilities; planned 3-day LEO mission.
- Artemis Accords: India signed the Artemis Accords (October 2023), committing to norms for peaceful, transparent, and interoperable space exploration.
● Tracked since February 28, 2026 · last seen May 28, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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