India and Japan have officially agreed to work together on a historic mission to explore the moon. On Friday, they signed an agreement to carry out the Chandrayaan-5 mission. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) signed the deal while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Tokyo.
The main purpose of the Chandrayaan-5 mission, also known as the Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission, is to explore volatile minerals on the moon, especially water, near the Permanently Shadowed Region (PSR) at the South Pole of the moon. Scientists all over the world are very interested in this area because it might have water ice, which is an important resource for future human space exploration.
The agreement says that JAXA will give the H3-24L launch vehicle to carry the parts of the mission. ISRO will build the lunar lander, which will subsequently take the Japanese-made lunar rover to the surface. ISRO is also in charge of building a number of scientific tools for the expedition that will be used to study the volatile substances located in the polar area of the moon.
Prime Minister Modi told The Yomiuri Shimbun that he was excited about the relationship. “I’m happy that India and Japan are working together on the next Chandrayaan series or LUPEX mission.” He remarked, “This will help us learn more about the areas at the lunar South Pole that are always in the dark.”
Modi also talked on how the alliance in space encourages both countries’ sectors and startups to work together and come up with new ideas. He went on to say, “This is making an ecosystem where new ideas flow in both directions—from labs to launch pads and from research to real-world uses.”
The Prime Minister said that India’s voyage into space is a story of tenacity and new ideas. “From Chandrayaan-3’s historic landing on the Moon’s south pole to our advances in interplanetary missions, India has consistently shown that space is not the final frontier, it is the next frontier,” he said, emphasizing the connection between space science and progress in everyday life, from farming to disaster management and communication.