ISRO's Ambitious Future: 5 Upcoming Indian Space Missions

The space ambitions of India, led by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) since 1969, have caught the world’s attention through successful missions that operate within budget constraints. From the first successful space mission, Aryabhata (1975), to achieving global spotlight with Chandrayaan-1, Mangalyaan and Chandrayaan-3, ISRO has set a standard for space exploration. Some of the important Indian space missions are as follows:

Aryabhata (Volgograd, 1975):

• India’s first satellite. With its successful launch, India was recognised as the 11th country in the world to send a satellite into orbit.

Chandrayaan-1:

• In 2008, Chandrayaan-1 became the first Indian deep space mission to discover water on the Moon.
• Among the instruments included was NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), an imaging spectrometer that helped to confirm the discovery of water locked in minerals on the Moon.

MOM (2014, PSLV-C25, Sriharikota, more than 7 years at Mars):

• MOM placed India among the select few space agencies to achieve this feat. Despite its planned mission duration of six months, MOM continues to orbit Mars, marking seven years as of September 24, 2021.

Chandrayan-3:

• This is the third mission in India’s moon exploration program by ISRO.
• It comes with a lander named Vikram and a small rover called Pragyan. These were designed to fix what failed in Chandrayaan-2,

ISRO proved that Indian space research & missions are competitive, cost-effective and innovative with a high success rate. NASA and ISRO are aiming to launch the NISAR Earth Mission in June 2025. The mission will measure changes in the melting glaciers, shifting land and natural disasters.

Next 5 Space Missions of ISRO:

With larger ambitions coming up, let’s take a closer look at the next five missions that are set to shape the future of Indian space exploration.

NISAR:

NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) is a collaborative Earth-observation satellite built to observe shifts in environmental changes and natural risks. Set for launch on ISRO’s GSLV Mk II, it will measure Earth’s surface and ice 4-6 times a month with detailed images of 5-10 meters.

Features:

• Built with a 12-meter expandable mesh antenna.
• Equipped with L-band (NASA) and S-band (ISRO) radar for underground images.
• Follows a sun-synchronous orbit from dawn to dusk.
• A 3-year mission life.

Contributions:

• NASA: L-band radar, GPS systems, payload data handling.
• ISRO: S-band radar, satellite bus, launch vehicle, and mission operations.

Purpose:

NASA and ISRO are getting ready to launch the NISAR Earth Mission in June 2025. To track changes in ecosystems, ice-sheet collapse and disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and landslides, aiding climate science and hazard management globally.

Gaganyaan-2:

Gaganyaan-2 is an example of refined technology and a cost-efficient mission. Also known as TV-D2, this is the second test mission planned for late 2025. It belongs to the part of  India’s spaceflight program for astronauts after completing previous test runs. 

Features:

• It builds on the success of the first Test Vehicle mission (TV-D1).
• The mission involves key components like the Human-rated LVM3 vehicle and Crew Escape System, which are in the final stages of testing.

Purpose:

Gaganyaan‑2 (TV‑D2) will create the groundwork for India’s next uncrewed orbital flights in 2026, opening the path for the first human mission scheduled for early 2027. This mission advances India’s position as a global space power, using Indigenous, affordable technology.

Venus Orbiter Mission (Shukrayan):

Shukrayaan-1 is ISRO’s next bold step to examine Venus, which is a lot like Earth. Expecting to launch in 2028. The plan is to discover unknown details below Venus’s heavy clouds and harsh, windy atmosphere.

Features:

• The mission will use upgraded scientific tools like Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to map Venus’s surface, spectrometers for atmospheric study, and an ionospheric analyser.
• It is planned to launch on the GSLV Mk II and might include a global network with CNES (France).

Purpose:

Shukrayaan-1 aims to study Venus’s volcanic activity, greenhouse effect and atmospheric behaviour to understand how a planet similar to Earth turned so hostile, offering insights into climate science and planetary evolution.

Mars Orbiter Mission 2:

MOM-2, also named Mangalyaan-2, is India’s second Mars mission. After the success of MOM-1 in 2013, ISRO planned and developed this mission, expected to land between 2024 and 2026, riding the LVM3 (GSLV   Mk III) rocket. Compared to MOM-1, this mission is more updated and targets orbiting closer to Mars using aerobraking.

Features:

• Launch Vehicle: LVM3 (GSLV Mk III)
• Orbit: Low Mars orbit (~200 km) with aerobraking
• Instruments:
• MODEX - studies interplanetary dust
• Radio Occultation (RO) - measures atmospheric density
• EIS - analyses solar wind and charged particles
• llfaLPEX - studies plasma and electric fields
• Innovative Addition: Possible inclusion of MARBLE, a drone-like rotorcraft to study Mars’s lower atmosphere

Purpose:

Mars’s atmosphere, dust, plasma environment, and solar interactions. MOM-2 will open new doors in the research of the Red Planet and set the stage for the next lander missions, rovers and even human missions to Mars.   

LUPEX:

Lunar Polar Exploration Mission is India’s fifth Moon mission backed by India’s National Space Commission. It’s a partnership between ISRO (India) and JAXA (Japan), with help from NASA and ESA. After the success of Chandrayaan-3 in August 2023, it’s set for launch in 2025.

Features:

• ISRO will design and create the lander, while JAXA will build the rover.
• Instruments from NASA and ESA will enhance the scientific objectives.
• Created to function for up to 100 days - 5× longer than Chandrayaan-3.
• Set to face extreme lunar environments with upgraded rover and lander systems.

Purpose:

LUPEX aims to explore the Moon’s south pole for water and vital resources, support future human presence, and strengthen India-Japan expertise in lunar exploration, paving the way for advanced technologies and future deep space missions.

Charting the Future:

ISRO’s successes from Aryabhata to Chandrayaan 3 repeatedly showed that Indian space research & missions are competitive in the global landscape. The five upcoming missions - NISAR, Gaganyaan-2, Shukrayaan, MOM-2 and LUPEX are a big step forward in our space endeavours.

More than new techs and tools, these missions aim to reshape our perspective of Earth's climate, lead the way for human spaceflight, study the secrets of other planets and utilise the resources on the Moon. Through global partnerships and made-in-India space tech, ISRO keeps innovating on new grounds, securing India's top spot in the new-age space race and creating a new era of exploration.