A unique mission with a Hollywood-sized budget: India is heading to the Moon once again (video).

In August 2023, India became the first country in the world to successfully land its spacecraft near the Moon's south pole. This achievement was part of the "Chandrayaan-3" mission. It has now been revealed that India is preparing for the "Chandrayaan-4" mission scheduled for 2028, which aims to collect rock samples from the same lunar region and return them to Earth. This Asian nation is also planning to land its astronauts on the Earth's satellite, as reported by Space.

Representatives of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that during the "Chandrayaan-4" mission, set for 2028, approximately 3 kg of lunar rock samples will be collected from a region filled with water ice near the Moon's south pole. These samples will then be returned to Earth for analysis. The Indian government has already allocated $250 million for this mission. Given that this amount is significant for India, ISRO plans to adhere to the budget to conduct the mission with low costs. For comparison, the budgets of some Hollywood blockbusters can range from $200 to $250 million.

It has been revealed that the "Chandrayaan-4" mission will consist of four spacecraft, each with different purposes. During two launches on India's most powerful launch vehicle, the LVM-3, the spacecraft will be delivered to the Moon.

During the first launch, the following will be sent to the Moon:

• a lander that will collect samples not only from the surface using a robotic manipulator but also from below the lunar surface (up to several meters deep) using a specialized drilling mechanism;
• an ascent module to transport the collected samples to lunar orbit.

During the second launch, a transport module and a descent capsule will be delivered, in which the samples will arrive on Earth. These spacecraft will remain in orbit around the Moon.

According to the mission plan for "Chandrayaan-4," once the lander collects the samples, they will be loaded into the ascent module, which will then travel to an exposed orbit where the samples will be transferred to the transport module. This module will head towards Earth and release the capsule containing the samples.

So far, ISRO has not specified the exact landing site for the "Chandrayaan-4" mission, but it is likely to be located near the site where the "Chandrayaan-3" mission landed.

Additionally, it has been announced that India plans to launch a joint mission with Japan, "Chandrayaan-5," to the Moon following the successful completion of the "Chandrayaan-4" mission. Japan will provide a rover weighing 350 kg, which will be approximately 12 times heavier than India’s rover from the "Chandrayaan-3" mission (27 kg).

Future missions are part of India's efforts to land astronauts on the Moon by 2040 and establish a lunar base by 2050.