India is preparing its most technically ambitious space mission to date after the Union Cabinet cleared Chandrayaan-4, a mission designed to land on the moon, collect up to 3 kg of regolith, and return the samples to Earth by late 2028.
Mission Architecture
Chandrayaan-4 will use a dual-launch architecture: two separate LVM3 rockets will carry the lander-ascent module and the transfer-propulsion module respectively. They will dock in lunar orbit — a first for India — before the combined spacecraft descends to the surface.
ISRO Chairman S. Somanath said the mission builds directly on Chandrayaan-3’s landing technology and Gaganyaan’s docking expertise. A landing site near the lunar south pole is the primary target.