The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has outlined a series of ambitious missions in a Parliamentary Standing Committee report on budget allocations for the Department of Space.

Among the most significant is the Chandrayaan 4 mission, a lunar sample return effort scheduled for October 2027.

This will be followed by Chandrayaan 5, also known as LUPEX, a collaborative mission with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) planned for September 2028. In parallel, ISRO intends to launch its first probe to Venus, the Shukrayaan mission, in March 2028. The Venus mission aims to map the planet’s surface in high resolution and study its dense, toxic atmosphere.

ISRO is also advancing its launch vehicle capabilities. Development of the LVM-3 rocket with a semi-cryogenic booster is targeted for 2028/29. Although earlier indications suggested this upgraded rocket would be required for Chandrayaan 4, the timelines now suggest the mission will instead rely on a pair of existing LVM-3 rockets without the booster. 

A hot fire test of the cryogenic engine has already been conducted. Alongside this, civil work is underway at Sriharikota for a third launch pad, expected to be completed by 2029/30.

Another milestone is the deployment of the first module of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS-01) by 2028, marking India’s entry into space station development. ISRO also plans to develop the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) by September 2031.

The report, however, highlighted delays in the Gaganyaan human spaceflight program. No firm dates have been communicated for either the uncrewed or crewed missions. ISRO explained that the delays stem from the unprecedented challenge of working with human-rated hardware, requiring extra caution to ensure crew safety. The first uncrewed mission, initially scheduled for the first quarter of 2026, was postponed following the failure of the PSLV-C62 flight.

Similarly, the Mars Lander Mission, or Mangalyaan 2, has been approved by the Space Commission but has yet to be formally cleared by the Union Cabinet. As a result, no target date has been set for its launch.

Taken together, these plans underscore ISRO’s determination to expand India’s presence in space through a mix of lunar exploration, interplanetary science, human spaceflight, and infrastructure development, even as some projects face delays due to technical and safety considerations.

Agencies