Chandrayaan-5: India and Japan to partner in mission to the Moon, says PM Modi
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: In a significant development for international space cooperation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced that India and Japan will join hands for the upcoming Chandrayaan-5 mission to the Moon, the media reported.
Chandrayaan-5 will be launched from Japan to the Moon.
Partnering with Japan will enable the mission to leverage cutting-edge technology and research expertise, reflecting a mutual desire to explore space for peaceful and scientific purposes.
During his two-day visit to Tokyo, PM Modi’s crucial announcement highlights the growing strategic and scientific partnership between the two Asian democracies.
In his meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Shigeru Ishiba, PM Modi emphasised the strong and friendly ties between India and Japan, and their shared commitment to advancing cooperation across a wide range of sectors. They also exchanged views on deepening parliamentary exchanges, boosting human resource development, and fostering cultural connections that strengthen bilateral goodwill.
The two democracies are focused on expanding economic collaboration and enhancing partnerships in health, mobility, artificial intelligence (AI), as well as science and technology. The Chandrayaan-5 partnership symbolises this spirit of joint progress in high-technology fields and space exploration.
Following the recent success of Chandrayaan projects, India’s next lunar mission Chandrayaan-5 is expected to advance scientific understanding of the Moon’s surface and environment. It will feature an Indian-built lander and a Japanese-built rover, expected to be the heaviest rover deployed on the lunar surface so far.
The mission will be launched after Chandrayaan-4 from India, which is being developed to return rocks and soil samples from the Moon.
This joint mission is also emblematic of the larger Indo-Japanese alliance, which aims to contribute to regional stability and global innovation. Both nations recognise the growing importance of space as a domain for scientific discovery and strategic collaboration.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is currently drafting early plans for Chandrayaan-6, 7, and 8.
India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the South Pole of the Moon in 2023. The Vikram lander touched down on the Shiva Shakti Point with the Pragyan rover and operated for one lunar day, that is equal to 14 Earth days. The spacecraft has been instrumental in some of the biggest discoveries on the Moon.
India is also working to build its own space station, whose first module will likely be launched in 2028 as the Indian space agency gears up for propelling astronauts into space aboard the Gaganyaan Mission in the coming years.
