Chandrayaan-4: ISRO Selects Mons Mouton Near Lunar South Pole

12 Feb 2026

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हिन्दी

Chandrayaan-4: ISRO Selects Mons Mouton Near Lunar South Pole

ISRO has selected MM-4 in the Mons Mouton region near the Moon’s South Pole as the landing site for Chandrayaan-4.

About Selected Landing Site: Mons Mouton (MM-4)

Mons Mouton (MM) lies in the lunar South Polar region, an area of high scientific interest due to potential water ice and ancient geological records.
Scientific Evaluation: Four candidate sites MM-1, MM-3, MM-4 and MM-5 were analysed using Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC) multi-view datasets for terrain safety and feasibility.
Safety Parameters: MM-4 was chosen as it has a minimal hazards percentage around one km by one km area, an average slope of about 5 degrees, a mean elevation of 5,334 metres, and the highest number of safe landing grids.

About Chandrayaan-4 Mission

Chandrayaan-4 is India’s first lunar sample-return mission, aimed at achieving soft landing, collecting lunar samples, and returning them safely to Earth.
Expected Launch: The mission is targeted for launch around 2028, subject to final readiness and approvals.
Key Components: The mission comprises five modules:
- Propulsion Module (PM)
- Descender Module (DM)
- Ascender Module (AM)
- Transfer Module (TM) and
- Re-entry Module (RM)
Key Mission Objectives: The mission seeks to achieve safe soft landing and sample collection from the lunar surface.
- It also aims to demonstrate lunar lift-off, orbital docking, sample transfer, and safe re-entry to Earth.

Successful Sample Return Mission to Moon

Mission	Agency	Key Description
Apollo 11–17 (1969–1972)	National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), USA	Crewed lunar missions that successfully returned about 382 kg of lunar rocks and soil to Earth.
Luna 16, 20 and 24 (1970-1976)	Soviet Space Agency (USSR)	First robotic lunar sample-return mission; successfully collected and returned lunar soil. Luna 24 was the last Soviet lunar sample-return mission and retrieved deep core samples from the Moon.
Chang’e 5 (2020)	China National Space Administration (CNSA), China	Robotic mission that collected ~1,731 grams of lunar material from Oceanus Procellarum and returned them to Earth.
Chang’e 6 (2024)	China National Space Administration (CNSA), China	First mission to return samples from the far side of the Moon, marking a historic achievement in lunar exploration.

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Conclusion

The success of Chandrayaan-4 will be India’s entry into complex lunar sample-return missions, strengthening its space capabilities and moon exploration with new samples from least explored South pole.

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