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”. Beyond Chandrayaan, the country also aims for the Gaganyaan Mission — the first human spaceflight mission, the Venus Orbiter Mission, unofficially known as Shukrayaan (2028).

The country also looks to establish an Indian Space Station (2035) and to land an Indian on the Moon by 2045.