While India's interplanetary ambitions remain significant, the current pace of financial and technical progress raises questions about whether the 2027-2028 timelines can be met.
Uncertainty surrounds India's ambitious plan to launch three interplanetary missions between 2027 and 2028, as concerns grow over the slow pace of expenditure.
The missions in question are Chandrayaan-4, scheduled for October 2027; the Venus Orbiter Mission, targeted for March 2028; and Chandrayaan-5, planned for September 2028.
Adding to the uncertainty is the lack of clarity on whether Chandrayaan-4 will use an indigenous or imported semi-cryogenic engine.
A parliamentary committee in its report, expressed concern over the slow pace of expenditure for these missions.
Key Points
- A parliamentary committee flagged slow expenditure as a key risk to India's planned interplanetary missions timeline for 2027 to 2028.
- Chandrayaan-4 and Chandrayaan-5 show significant gaps between allocated budgets and actual spending, raising implementation concerns.
- The Venus Orbiter Mission has seen minimal expenditure so far despite approvals, with key procurement and agreements still underway.
Expenditure Trends Across Missions
For Chandrayaan-4, an allocation of Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion/about $16.05 million) was made at the Budget Estimate (BE) stage for the financial year 2025-2026, which was subsequently revised downward to Rs 21 crore (Rs 210 million/about $2.25 million) at the Revised Estimate (RE) stage.
The actual expenditure incurred up to January 31, 2026 stood at Rs 34.60 crore (Rs 346 million/about $3.70 million).
Similarly, for Chandrayaan-5, an allocation of Rs 2 crore (Rs 20 million/about $0.21 million) was made at the BE stage for 2025-2026 and later revised upward to Rs 14 crore (Rs 140 million/about $1.50 million) at the RE stage; however, the actual expenditure incurred as of January 31, 2026 was only Rs 0.58 crore (Rs 5.8 million/about $0.06 million).
Regarding the Venus Orbiter Mission, the committee notes that for the financial year 2024-2025, the BE allocation of Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million/about $0.11 million) was revised to Rs 2.10 crore (Rs 21 million/about $0.22 million) at the RE stage, but no expenditure was incurred during the year.
Further, in the financial year 2025-2026, the BE allocation of Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million/about $5.35 million) was revised downward to Rs 29.50 crore (Rs 295 million/about $3.16 million), while the actual expenditure incurred up to January 31, 2026 was Rs 5.12 crore (Rs 51.2 million/about $0.55 million).
Venus Orbiter Mission: Scientific Objectives
According to India's Department of Space, the Union Cabinet approved the proposal for launching the Venus Orbiter Mission in September 2024.
The mission is currently targeted for launch in March 2028, with an approved project cost of Rs 824 crore (Rs 8.24 billion/about $88.17 million).
The orbiter mission aims to improve scientific understanding of Venus's origin and evolutionary processes.
The mission also seeks to study the causative mechanisms for the super-rotation of the Venusian atmosphere, the chemistry of its clouds, the characteristics of the Venusian ionosphere, and the interaction between the solar wind and the planetary environment, using improved observational techniques and higher-resolution instruments.
The Department of Space also stated the mission will pursue several specific scientific and technological objectives such as high-resolution mapping of the Venusian surface; determination of the structure and stratigraphy of surface and subsurface features, including volcanic hot spots; and detailed studies of the structure and composition of the Venusian atmosphere.
The mission will also examine cloud chemistry, detect lightning and airglow phenomena, investigate the mechanisms responsible for atmospheric super-rotation, and study the Venusian ionosphere along with solar wind-induced processes.
There is also renewed global interest in the exploration of Venus and it presents a significant opportunity for India's scientific and technological community.
The mission is expected to address several outstanding scientific questions and generate important outcomes, some of which may represent global firsts, such as higher-resolution surface topography, characterisation of dust in the Venusian atmosphere, measurement of the solar X-ray spectrum near Venus, and profiling of subsurface features.
Many earlier missions to Venus had limited and narrow spatial coverage, focusing mainly on the south polar region or equatorial belt.
As a result, it has been difficult to construct comprehensive global maps of several phenomena such as atmospheric winds, waves and chemical abundances.
The proposed Indian mission is expected to provide more uniform global coverage of Venus, thereby generating a unique dataset valuable for future scientific studies and missions.
Progress and Implementation Status
Regarding the progress made so far with the Venus Orbiter Mission, the Department of Space stated that the spacecraft configuration has been finalised and the preliminary design review for the payloads and mainframe systems has been completed.
In addition, procurement activities for various components required for the mission have been initiated.
As to the slow spend, the Department of Space reasoned that the major cash flow envisaged during the financial year 2025-2026 was primarily linked to signing Memoranda of Understanding with autonomous institutions for developing scientific payloads for the mission.
The Department of Space informed the parliamentary committee that an MoU with the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology has already been signed and fund transfer has been completed.
Further, the MoU with the Physical Research Laboratory is at an advanced stage of finalisation and is expected to conclude shortly.
The Department of Space also stated that certain payload devices, have been finalised and that part shipments are expected before March 2026. It is not known whether the shipments have arrived.
India's Next Two Moon Missions
India's fourth Moon Mission -- Chandrayaan-4 -- was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet in September 2024.
The proposed timeline for its launch is October 2027.
As to the mission goals the committee report states:
Lunar Sample Return: The primary goal is to safely bring lunar soil (regolith) back to Earth from the Southern polar region for high-end scientific analysis.
Currently, no lunar sample has been brought back from the polar regions of the Moon. India will be the first country to accomplish this.
Technological Demonstration: It aims to develop and prove critical new technologies, including automated sampling and drilling, launching a vehicle from the Moon's surface, and docking two spacecraft modules in lunar orbit.
Preparations towards India's human-landing on Moon: By mastering the ability to return from the Moon to Earth, this mission serves as a foundation for India's goal to land astronauts on the Moon by 2040.
Scientific Analysis: On Earth, scientists will study these diverse samples to better understand the origin and formative history of the Earth-Moon system.
On the other hand, the Chandrayaan-5 project is a collaboration mission between ISRO and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) aimed at landing at the Lunar south pole region to obtain data regarding water quantity, understand water accumulation mechanisms, and study composition.
The spacecraft comprises:
- A Lunar Lander by ISRO
- A Rover by JAXA
JAXA will launch the integrated spacecraft using its H3-24L launch vehicle.
The proposed timeline for launch is September 2028.
Reasons for Delays and Cost Variations
Regarding the outlay for the two Moon missions, the report states that the approved project cost of Chandrayaan-4 and Chandrayaan-5 missions is Rs 2,104.06 crore (Rs 21.0406 billion/about $225.13 million) and Rs 981.99 crore (Rs 9.8199 billion/about $105.07 million) respectively.
When queried about underutilisation of funds and expenditure variations, the parliamentary committee was informed that developing new scientific missions like Chandrayaan-4 is an iterative process constrained by technical and operational factors.
The Department of Space further noted that delays in design finalisation, procurement, and the shift to a semi-cryogenic engine contributed to underutilisation.
Three Missions In Progress Towards Flight
The parliamentary committee observed that these missions are transitioning into the execution phase, where cash flow requirements will increase significantly.
Given their importance, the committee urged improvements in fund utilisation and implementation pace.
Overall, while India's interplanetary ambitions remain significant, the current pace of financial and technical progress raises questions about whether the 2027-2028 timelines can be met.
Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at venkatacharijagannathan@gmail.com
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