ISRO Picks Moon’s South Pole Site for Chandrayaan-4 Mission

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has identified a landing site for its upcoming Chandrayaan-4 mission , aiming for the Moon’s South Polar region , a zone partly on the far side and considered highly challenging for a soft landing.Officials said the South Polar region presents significant challenges due to extreme terrain and communication difficulties , but meticulous site analysis ensures a high probability of mission success.

The Union government has approved Chandrayaan-4, a lunar sample-return mission and ISRO’s most complex lunar endeavour yet, targeted for 2028 . ISRO officials said they had examined four candidate locations in the Mons Mouton region MM-1, MM-3, MM-4, and MM-5 and selected MM-4 as the safest site. The 1 km by 1 km area around MM-4 was found to have the least hazards , a gentle mean slope of 5 degrees , an average height of 5,334 metres , and the largest number of hazard-free grids , making it suitable for a precise soft landing.

The mission will include a Propulsion Module (PM), Descender Module (DM), Ascender Module (AM), Transfer Module (TM), and Re-entry Module (RM). The DM+AM stack will execute the soft landing using advanced navigation, guidance, and control systems, while other modules manage propulsion, lunar transfer, and safe return of samples.

Chandrayaan-4 builds on ISRO’s previous lunar efforts: Chandrayaan-1 (2008) orbited the Moon and discovered water molecules, Chandrayaan-2 (2019) successfully orbited but saw the Vikram lander crash , and Chandrayaan-3 (2023) achieved a historic soft landing at the South Pole , proving India’s capability for polar landings.