SpaceISRO missions to the Moon, Mars and the Sun
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has sent spacecraft to the Moon, to Mars and towards the Sun. This page tells the story of four of them. Every date and figure below is taken from ISRO's own mission pages, read on 12 November 2026, and each section links the page it used. Where an ISRO page did not state a detail, it is left out here.
Chandrayaan-1
Chandrayaan-1 was India's first mission to the Moon. It was launched on 22 October 2008 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, on the rocket PSLV-C11, with a launch mass of 1380 kg. The spacecraft circled the Moon at a height of 100 km to map its chemistry, minerals and surface. After its main aims were met, the orbit was raised to 200 km in May 2009. It made more than 3400 orbits of the Moon. The mission ended when contact with the spacecraft was lost on 29 August 2009.
Source: ISRO, read on 12 November 2026.
Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan)
The Mars Orbiter Mission, India's first mission to another planet, was launched on board PSLV-C25 on 5 November 2013. With it, ISRO became the fourth space agency to send a spacecraft successfully into orbit round Mars. Its aims were mainly technological: to design, build and fly a craft able to reach and orbit Mars. It was designed to last six months. In fact it completed seven years in orbit on 24 September 2021.
Source: ISRO, read on 12 November 2026.
Chandrayaan-3
Chandrayaan-3 was the follow-on to Chandrayaan-2, built to show that India could land safely and drive a rover on the Moon. It had a lander, a rover and a propulsion module that carried them to a 100 km orbit round the Moon. It flew on the rocket LVM3-M4. After a series of orbit-raising steps in July 2023 the craft was put on its path to the Moon on 1 August 2023. The soft landing succeeded later that month, and on 24 August 2023 ISRO reported that the rover had rolled down from the lander. On 28 August its LIBS instrument confirmed sulphur on the lunar surface by direct measurement. By 4 September 2023 the lander and rover had been put into sleep mode.
Source: ISRO, read on 12 November 2026.
Aditya-L1
Aditya-L1 is India's first solar observatory in space. It was launched by the rocket PSLV-C57. After several Earth-bound manoeuvres in early September 2023, it was sent towards the Sun-Earth L1 point on 19 September 2023. On 6 January 2024 it was placed in a halo orbit around L1, a point between Earth and the Sun from which the Sun can be watched without interruption. Later that month its magnetometer boom was deployed.
Source: ISRO, read on 12 November 2026.
What these missions show
Read in order, the four missions trace a clear path. Chandrayaan-1 put a spacecraft in orbit round the Moon. The Mars Orbiter Mission reached another planet. Chandrayaan-3 landed softly and drove a rover on the Moon. Aditya-L1 went to watch the Sun from a point between Earth and the Sun.
Words used on this page
- PSLV and LVM3 are ISRO's rockets. The letters and numbers after them, as in PSLV-C25, name one particular flight.
- Orbit: the path of a spacecraft circling a planet or moon.
- Soft landing: touching down gently enough for the craft to keep working.
- L1: a point between Earth and the Sun where a spacecraft can stay in step with Earth.
Not on this page
ISRO's page for Chandrayaan-2 could not be opened when this site was made, so that mission is not described here. For the latest on any mission, and for missions still to come, see isro.gov.in.
For the worlds these missions visited, see the Moon, Mars and the Sun.