From Aryabhatta to Axiom-4: Now what next? Know ISRO's all upcoming missions

With several major missions, India is gearing up for a groundbreaking era in space, along with deep-sea exploration. Launching Aryabhata in collaboration with Russia in 1975 to the Axiom-4 mission in 2025 in a joint venture with an International multi-agency involving Axiom Space, SpaceX, NASA and ESA, has expanded its technology and infrastructure along with its space economy. India has also seen a spike in investment & international collaborations, and the entry of private space companies under new space reforms.

In addition to joint ventures, ISRO has independently launched several remarkable missions, such as Chandrayaan-1, Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3, Aditya-L1, and many more, surprising the world and space agencies worldwide by achieving these feats on budgets comparable to Hollywood movie productions.

Along with these successful projects, ISRO has also scheduled a list of several other missions which will be launched or accomplished in the coming years.

Here is list of ISRO's upcoming missions:

Gaganyaan uncrewed mission

It is likely to take place in December 2025 with a humanoid robot, Vyommitra. Gaganyaan mission will be the first of three planned uncrewed missions that will set the stage for India's maiden human spaceflight, carrying three people, scheduled in 2027.

Its uncrewed mission will launch into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) using ISRO’s GSLV Mk III (LVM-3) rocket. The mission will establish the independent capability of India for human spaceflight, reducing dependence on foreign agencies.

Samudrayaan Mission

The Samudrayaan Mission, scheduled for 2026, is an ambitious deep-sea exploration project of ISRO which aims to study marine biodiversity, seabed ecosystems, and mineral resources. A three-member crew will descend to a depth of 6,000 metres in a specialised submersible vehicle as a part of this mission. It is being developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) based in Chennai.

The sole motive of the mission is to unlock access to critical minerals and rare earth metals from the seabed that can be important for technological advancements and strategic research. It will also support the Blue Economy vision of India by utilising ocean resources sustainably.

Chandrayaan-4 Mission

The Chandrayaan-4 Mission of ISRO is India's first lunar sample return mission, which will be launched in 2027 to collect and bring back Moon soil and rock samples. It requires two separate launches while using the heavy-lift LVM-3 rocket.

Before the execution, the components will be assembled in lunar orbit, consisting of four modules, namely the Transfer module (TM), Lander module (LM), Ascender module (AM) and Reentry Module (RM). The project is likely to be in collaboration with partners like Russia or NASA.

Chandrayaan-5/LUPEX mission:

After the launch of Chandrayaan-1, Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3 and the forthcoming Chandrayaan-4 (India’s first lunar sample return mission), the Chandrayaan-5 / LUPEX (LUnar Polar EXploration) mission will be the fifth mission in the Chandrayaan series of lunar missions by ISRO in collaboration with JAXA. The mission will focus on the study of the lunar water, lunar volatile materials in the vicinity of a Permanently Shadowed Region (PSR) in the lunar South pole.

These missions depict a pivotal shift in India’s scientific progress, strengthening its global standing in space exploration, marine science, and planetary research. The upcoming projects of the country are set to deliver not only technological breakthroughs but also it will also play economic and strategic advantages, ushering in a new chapter of innovation and discovery.