Isro team visits Japan to assess Chandrayaan-5 launch site prep

This joint project will send an Indian-built lander and a Japanese-built rover to the Moon's South Pole to hunt for water ice.

In Short

• Isro team visits Japan's Tanegashima Space Centre for LUPEX mission prep
• Isro and JAXA conduct pre-launch checks for H3 rocket lift-off
• Launch expected by 2028, marking strong India-Japan space collaboration

In a key step forward for the India-Japan space partnership, members of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) recently visited Japan’s Tanegashima Space Centre.

The team inspected launch facilities and prepared for tests ahead of the planned lift-off of the Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission, called Chandrayaan-5 in India.

This joint project will send an Indian-built lander and a Japanese-built rover to the Moon’s South Pole to hunt for water ice.

Photos shared on social media showed Isro and JAXA experts working together in meetings. The respective teams also posed proudly at the centre’s entrance under the flags of India and Japan. The visit highlights growing teamwork between the two countries in space exploration.

ISRO PREPARES FOR LAUNCH TESTS

The Isro delegation checked equipment and systems at the Tanegashima site, which will launch the mission using Japan’s H3 rocket.

Officials examined areas where the lander and rover will be loaded onto the rocket before take-off. These pre-launch checks ensure everything runs smoothly when the spacecraft heads to the Moon.

This is also not the first time the teams have met. Isro and JAXA have held several technical meetings over the past year to finalise designs and plans. The visit comes as both agencies push ahead with hardware testing.

India’s lander has already seen progress with new engine tests, while Japan works on its rover.

FIND WATER AT MOON'S SOUTH POLE

Chandrayaan-5 aims to answer big questions about water on the Moon.

The South Pole has areas that stay in permanent shadow and are believed to hold large amounts of ice. Scientists want to know how much water is there, what form it takes, and whether it can be used in future missions.

The Indian lander will carry the rover safely to the surface. Once there, the Japanese rover, weighing about 350 kg, will drive around, drill into the Moon’s soil up to nearly 5 feet deep, and collect samples.

It will use special tools to study the ice and other materials.

Instruments from Nasa and the European Space Agency (ESA) will also be on board to gather more data.

The mission will last at least three-and-a-half months on the Moon and could run up to a year. It builds on India’s success with Chandrayaan-3, which made a soft landing near the South Pole in 2023.

For Japan, it continues its work with precise landing technology. Experts say finding usable water could change space travel. Astronauts might one day turn lunar ice into drinking water, oxygen, or rocket fuel. This would make long stays on the Moon easier and cheaper.

Chandrayaan-5 shows how India and Japan are working together to explore space, with the mission expected to launch no earlier than 2028 from Tanegashima.

As preparations continue, the visit marks an exciting milestone in this shared journey to the Moon.

- Ends