ISRO's Chandrayaan-2 orbiter still active, shaping India's lunar plans
ISRO's Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, launched in 2019, is still going strong and making a real difference for India's moon plans.
Its high-resolution camera helped pick the landing spot for Chandrayaan-3, and it's currently operating from the Moon's orbit, sending back sharp images from 100km above the lunar surface.
Anil Bhardwaj, director of Ahmedabad-based Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) under the Department of Space, shared at AEDEX that this data is shaping how India approaches future moon missions.
Chandrayaan-4 sample return, Chandrayaan-5 JAXA rover
Looking ahead, ISRO's got big plans. Chandrayaan-4 will use built sensors to land on the moon and bring samples back to Earth.
Then comes Chandrayaan-5, a team-up with Japan's JAXA, to explore the moon's shadowy south pole with a rover hunting for water.
To help lander survive those freezing two-week lunar nights, ISRO is developing a heating system.