Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in Tokyo on 29 August 2025 that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Japan’s space agency JAXA will collaborate on Chandrayaan-5—a joint lunar mission targeting the Moon’s south pole.
A formal ISRO–JAXA partnership for Chandrayaan-5 (often referred to as LUPEX) combines India’s lander expertise with Japanese rover and payload capabilities, accelerating scientific study of lunar water-ice and reinforcing strategic technological ties between two major Asian space powers. The collaboration strengthens scientific returns while sharing costs, risk, and technical skills.
What Modi announced and the diplomatic context
Modi framed the announcement as part of a broader India–Japan science and technology push during his Tokyo engagements, saying the G2G space partnership will spur industry and startup involvement on both sides. The statement followed bilateral meetings that highlighted investments, technology transfer, and defense-civil cooperation.
Mission profile & scientific goals
Chandrayaan-5 / LUPEX aims to explore the lunar south polar region to map and analyze water-ice and volatile deposits—data vital for understanding resources that could support future crewed missions and in-situ resource utilization. Public reporting indicates the mission architecture pairs an ISRO lander with a JAXA rover, leveraging each agency’s strengths in soft landing and mobile surface science.
Technical cooperation and responsibilities
Past technical interface meetings between ISRO and JAXA show hands-on coordination: mission design reviews, payload integration timelines, and joint testing regimes are already underway. ISRO’s technical briefings (TIM-3 held in May 2025) confirm regular face-to-face exchanges to finalize interfaces between the lander, rover, and payloads—critical steps before spacecraft assembly. Reports also note JAXA may provide launch support options, including Japan’s H3 launcher, depending on the agreed mission plan.
Timeline & recent milestones
The agencies have signalled an optimistic window in the 2027–28 timeframe for a LUPEX/Chandrayaan-5 launch, subject to final design, testing, and international coordination of launch manifests. Technical Interface Meetings and joint test schedules earlier in 2025 demonstrate steady progress, but final mission dates will hinge on hardware readiness and launch-vehicle availability.
What’s next?
Near-term steps include completing payload-level integration, environmental testing, mission simulations, and formalizing a launch services agreement. Stakeholders—industry partners, startups, and academic teams—can expect calls for tender and technology transfers as ISRO and JAXA move from the design to the build phase. Observers will watch upcoming joint technical reviews and the agencies’ next TIM summaries for firm launch dates.
According to Prime Minister Modi’s remarks in Tokyo and official reporting of ISRO–JAXA technical meetings, PMO/PMIndia coverage and major outlets reported the announcement, and ISRO’s TIM-3 update documents ongoing technical coordination for Chandrayaan-5/LUPEX.
Conclusion
The ISRO–JAXA collaboration on Chandrayaan-5 marks a pragmatic blend of scientific ambition and international partnership. By pairing ISRO’s lander capabilities with JAXA’s rover expertise, the mission could deliver high-value data on lunar volatiles while deepening a technology relationship with strategic implications for future deep-space cooperation. The coming months of joint testing and mission reviews will show whether the partnership can convert a political announcement into a successful lunar touchdown.
