May 15, 2025

During May 13-14, 2025, ISRO and JAXA, the space agency of Japan, jointly conducted the third face-to-face Technical Interface Meeting (TIM-3), towards the Chandrayaan-5/LUPEX mission, in ISRO Headquarters, Bengaluru. The meeting was attended by senior officials, project executives, and technical team members from ISRO, JAXA, and the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Japan.

Following the legacy of Chandrayaan-1, Chandrayaan-2 (orbiter-based lunar exploration), Chandrayaan-3 (lander-rover based in-situ exploration) and the forthcoming Chandrayaan-4 (India’s first lunar sample return mission), the Chandrayaan-5 / LUPEX (LUnar Polar EXploration) mission will be the fifth mission in the Chandrayaan series of lunar missions, in collaboration with JAXA, to study the lunar volatile materials, including lunar water, in the vicinity of a Permanently Shadowed Region (PSR) in the lunar South pole. The mission will be launched by JAXA onboard its H3-24L launch vehicle, carrying the ISRO-made lunar lander, which will carry the MHI, Japan-made lunar rover. ISRO, apart from developing the lunar lander, is also responsible for developing a few scientific instruments for the mission. The scientific instruments for this mission would be contributed by ISRO, JAXA, ESA and NASA, all thematically connected with the exploration and in-situ analysis of the volatiles reserved in the lunar polar region. The approval for the Chandrayaan-5 / LUPEX mission was received from Government of India on March 10, 2025, in the form of financial sanction.

During the meeting, Shri M. Ganesh Pillai, Scientific Secretary, ISRO congratulated both the teams for the technical achievements so far, and emphasized on the importance of the collaborative endeavor for the scientific and technical aspects of the mission. Dr. Tirtha Pratim Das, Director, Science Programme Office, ISRO Headquarters, briefed about the major milestones achieved in terms of the landing site selection, payload optimization, mission design, as well as the ground segment and communication aspects. Shri G Ravi Chandra Babu, study team leader of Chandrayaan-5/LUPEX, briefed about the technical configurations arrived. He emphasized on the need for the clear definition of the milestones, timeline and deliverables of the project. Mr. Dai-Asoh, JAXA, during his opening address, briefed about the technical progress made towards the development of the rover and the interfaces related.

The two days face-to-face meeting deliberated on the various technical interfaces, joint mission implementation plan, as well as the potential landing sites for the mission. The Chandrayaan-5 / LUPEX missions will be one of the major short-term milestones in India’s lunar exploration odyssey, which envisions Indian Gaganyatris (astronauts) landing on the Moon by year 2040.