The Union Cabinet has officially approved ISRO’s Chandrayaan-4 mission aimed at collecting lunar soil samples and returning them safely to Earth. This ambitious multi-module project marks a significant leap toward India’s vision of establishing a space station by 2035.

📌 Key Highlights

• 👉 The Union Cabinet sanctioned ₹2,104 crore for the Chandrayaan-4 mission targeting a 2028 launch.
• 👉 The mission requires two separate rocket launches to assemble five distinct spacecraft modules in space.
• 👉 India will become the fourth nation to successfully retrieve soil samples from the lunar surface.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has formally sanctioned ISRO’s highly anticipated Chandrayaan-4 mission. Designed to build upon the historic success of Chandrayaan-3, the new mission aims to demonstrate advanced technologies required to collect samples from the Moon’s surface and return them safely back to Earth. With an allocated budget of ₹2,104 crore, the mission represents a vital stepping stone in India’s long-term human spaceflight and lunar exploration roadmap.

Chandrayaan-4 introduces an innovative architectural design utilizing two separate LVM3 rocket launches to place five specialized modules into space. These modules include an Ascender, Descender, Transfer Module, Re-entry Module, and Propulsion Module, which will dock together in orbit before executing the lunar landing and sample collection sequence. This complex docking and space assembly capability is crucial for future crewed lunar landings planned by India for 2040.

According to ISRO officials, the mission will focus on the Moon’s southern polar region to harvest surface soil and rock cores. Beyond sample retrieval, Chandrayaan-4 will test critical re-entry thermal shielding and automated rendezvous maneuvers. Successful execution will firmly position India alongside the United States, Russia, and China as one of the few nations to master full lunar sample return capability.