Category Archives: ISRO

Holiday Edition
Wed-Mon / 26 Nov – 1 Dec 2025

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ISRO and JAXA Collaborate for Lunar Synergy

JAXA delegation meets ISRO senior leadership, reviews progress on upcoming ~US$253M Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (LuPEX), tours UR Rao Satellite Centre, discusses potential collaboration to create robotic arm / launch science satellites / support researchers and private companies from both nations working jointly; ISRO LuPEX Moon lander – Chandrayaan-5 – carries ~250kg JAXA rover / instruments from NASA / ESA / JAXA / ISRO, will investigate quantity / quality of South Pole-region water ice, flies 2028-2029 on JAXA H3 rocket; ~US$250M Chandrayaan-4 lunar sample return launching 2027-2028

Image Credits: ISRO, JAXA

Friday / 24 October 2025

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ispace Innovation / Cooperation Offers Success Model for Lunar Advancement

ispace, inc. (Japan), developing Moon landers / rovers in HAKUTO-R program, planned to collect lunar regolith for US$5,000 and transfer ownership to NASA — evoking lunar property rights questions; subsidiary ispace-Europe signs 6 Oct US$22M Payload Services Agreement (PSA) with Magna Petra Corp. to deliver (via subsidiary ispace-USA APEX 1.0 lander / micro-rover) NASA MSOLO mass spectrometer for lunar Helium-3 prospecting under Magna Petra-NASA 5 May Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA); ispace signs 5 Sep MoU with Digantara (India) for cislunar awareness and 23 Oct with OrbitAID (India) for refueling, indirectly supporting ISRO-JAXA LUPEX / Chandrayaan-5 mission (JAXA rocket / rover, ISRO lander) launching NET 2028

Image Credits: ispace

Tuesday / 12 August 2025

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Hi-Res Photos from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter Continue to Identify and Reveal

Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, marking 6 years in lunar orbit 20 Aug, has 1/4-meter resolution of Moon surface; citizen scientist Chandra Tungathurthi reveals photos from Chandrayaan-2 of Intuitive Machines IM-2 Athena lander at Mons Mouton ~85°S and 6 Mar skid marks leading to resting site; NASA LRO first photographed Athena 7 Mar, has 1/2-meter resolution; 2-year observation of Chandrayaan-3 landing success at Statio Shiv Shakti ~69°S to be marked 23 Aug; mission team recipient of 2024 IAF World Space Award 

Image Credits: ISRO / C Tungathurthi, Intuitive Machines 

Friday / 9 May 2025

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India Moon Science, Future Missions Highlighted at IAF GLEX, New Delhi

Vyomanaut in training, Ajit Krishnan returns from IAF GLEX ongoing in New Delhi where India Moon and Solar System Complete mission science is being discussed; Chandrayaan-4 sample return lander to Statio Shiv Shakti NET 2027; Gaganyaan human Moon mission 8.2 t orbital module will carry 3 atop HLVM3, 1st flight Q1 2027; Chandrayaan-3 was 1st lander near South Pole region, making India 4th country with soft landing, rover also successful; Chandrayaan-2 orbiter continues to analyze Moon atmosphere, surface and subsurface; Chandrayaan-1 orbiter confirmed surface water

Credits: ISRO, NASA, PTI

Friday / 21 February 2025

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India to the Moon: Update and Focus

ISRO charting innovative course for human Moon landing by 2040, perhaps near Shiv Shakti where Chandrayaan 3 landed; LVM3 rocket being modified into Human-Rated HR-LVM3 ‘Soorya’ with safety systems, tripled liftoff mass capability ~1.8 million kg; higher-capacity lunar lander being built with Earth Departing Stage (EDS); crewed Moon missions to require minimum 2 launches, then in-space docking / assembly; inaugural double launch NET 2025 for Gaganyaan crewed Earth orbit, then Chandrayaan-4 lunar sample return NET 2027 (updated from 2028); IAF GLEX Conference upcoming May 7-9 in New Delhi

Credits: ISRO, NASA/JPL/USGS