Chandrayaan-4: ISRO chief Somanath shares plans for next Moon mission in 2040

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S Somnath on Wednesday that the upcoming phase of the Chandrayaan project is in progress, aiming to advance India's lunar exploration efforts. He indicated that Chandrayaan-4 marks the initial stride towards India's aspiration of landing an astronaut on the moon by 2040. Addressing a press conference, Somnath said, “Chandrayaan-4 is a concept that we are now developing as a continuation of the Chandrayaan series...our honourable Prime Minister has announced that an Indian will land on the moon in 2040.

So, if that has to happen, we have to have continuous moon exploration of various kinds." “Chandrayaan-4 is the first step in the direction....to step a craft on the moon and collect sample and bring it back to Earth. It demonstrates the full cycle of going to the moon and coming back to Earth," he added. Also Read: Interest in moon not over yet! What next for ISRO after successful Chandrayaan-3 mission? Somanath reveals THIS Somnath further said that ISRO is working on plenty of other projects ranging from rocket and satellite projects to technology development projects.

“There are plenty. We have major projects, rocket projects, we have satellite projects, application projects and technology development projects. Rocket projects are around 5-10, satellite projects are about 30-40, and application projects are in 100s and R&D projects are in 1000s," he added.