NEW DELHI: India and Japan on Friday signed an implementing arrangement for a joint lunar exploration mission to the south pole of the Moon called Chandrayaan-5, during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Tokyo.The arrangement between Isro and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) concerning the joint lunar polar exploration mission (LUPEX) was inked on the sidelines of Modi’s visit and the pact was exchanged by Jaxa vice-president Matsuura Mayumi and India’s ambassador to Japan Sibi George.Addressing a joint press briefing with his Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba, PM Modi said, “We welcome the collaboration between Isro and Jaxa for the Chandrayaan-5 mission. Our active participation has gone beyond the limits of the Earth and will become a symbol of mankind’s progress in space.”Referring to the global praise received by Chandrayaan-3’s successful landing near the lunar South Pole in 2023 — when India became the first country to go to the uncharted territory of the Moon — Modi said the next challenge lies in deeper exploration of the lunar surface, particularly areas that may hold critical resources such as water ice. “This will contribute to deepening our understanding of the permanently shadowed regions at the lunar south pole,” Modi said in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun.“Our G2G collaboration in the space sector, between Isro and Jaxa, is fostering a culture of cooperation between our industries and startups. This is creating an ecosystem where innovation flows both ways — from labs to launchpads, and from research to real-world applications,” Modi said.The Chandrayaan-5 mission will be launched by Jaxa onboard its H3-24L launch vehicle, carrying the Isro-made lunar lander, which will carry a Japan-made rover.Apart from the lander, Isro is also responsible for developing a few scientific instruments for the mission. The spacecraft will carry seven scientific instruments, including a mass spectrometer by ESA and neutron spectrometers by Nasa.Chandrayaan-5’s mission objectives will be mapping lunar water presence; drilling lunar regolith to analyse water content, quality and composition; and performing in-situ scientific observations using spectrometers and sensors. It is a proposed 100-day mission with possible extension to a year and an attempt to explore the Moon’s far side.The approval for the Chandrayaan-5 was given by the Modi govt on March 10, in the form of financial sanction.During May 13-14, Isro and Jaxa had jointly conducted a third face-to-face technical interface meeting for the mission, at the Bengaluru-based Isro headquarters. The meeting was attended by senior officials, project executives and technical team members from Isro, Jaxa and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan.The two-day meeting deliberated on the various technical interfaces, joint mission implementation plan, as well as the potential landing sites for the mission. During the meeting, M Ganesh Pillai, scientific secretary, Isro, congratulated both the teams for technical achievements so far, and emphasized on the importance of the collaborative endeavour for the scientific and technical aspects of the mission.
