India, Japan deepen space ties with LUPEX lunar mission targeting 2028 launch

India and Japan are moving toward one of Asia's most ambitious joint space ventures, a partnership that reflects both nations' growing confidence in their technological capabilities and their willingness to pool resources on a mission of genuine scientific complexity. At the center of this collaboration sits LUPEX—the Lunar Polar Exploration Mission, also known as Chandrayaan-5—a joint effort to land an uncrewed rover on the Moon's south pole no earlier than 2028 to search for water and ice in permanently shadowed regions.

Saku Tsuneta, Vice Chair of Japan's National Space Policy Cabinet Office, spoke about the mission this week at India's International Space Conclave in New Delhi, describing it as one of the most significant joint programs the two countries have undertaken. The division of labor is straightforward but demanding: Japan's space agency, JAXA, will provide the H3 launch vehicle and a 350-kilogram rover equipped with instruments designed to detect and analyze water and ice deposits. India's space agency, ISRO, will supply the lander and contribute additional rover instruments. The technical complexity is substantial—landing on the Moon requires intricate coordination between two space agencies with different systems, protocols, and engineering traditions. "We have a very complicated interface and a very complicated program," Tsuneta acknowledged, emphasizing that success will depend on deep collaboration at every level.

What makes this partnership noteworthy is the mutual respect it reflects. Japan has been watching India's rapid ascent in space technology with genuine interest, and Tsuneta did not shy away from acknowledging India's achievements. India's successful lunar landing, which occurred before Japan's own, impressed Japanese scientists and policymakers. "Accomplishment by India, for instance, landing on the moon prior to the Japanese landing, is quite impressive," he said. This is not the language of rivalry but of recognition—two nations in Asia advancing their capabilities and choosing to work together rather than compete.

Beyond LUPEX, both countries are eyeing a broader partnership. Tsuneta encouraged people to begin discussions about future collaboration between ISRO and JAXA, suggesting that the relationship extends well beyond this single mission. He also noted a significant shift in India's space ecosystem: the emergence of private space companies working closely with ISRO on their own investment. Japan is experiencing a similar trend, and Tsuneta sees these new entrants as crucial to deepening bilateral partnerships. The involvement of commercial actors could accelerate innovation and reduce costs, making more ambitious missions feasible.

The timing of this partnership also reflects India's growing influence in global space governance. At the same event, former Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi argued that India should join the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), the primary international body overseeing space cooperation and the development of space law. Lekhi contended that current decision-makers are predominantly from the Global North, and that India's perspective—representing the Global South—would benefit not only India but the entire world. "The policy perspective India can give nobody can provide," she said.

India's ambitions extend further still. Lt Gen AK Bhatt, the founding director general of the Indian Space Association, announced that India plans to land on the Moon with an Indian spacecraft and rocket by 2040, with the first crewed Gaganyatri landing in Chandrayaan scheduled for that year. These are long-term commitments that signal India's intention to become a spacefaring power in its own right, not merely a partner in others' missions.

The LUPEX mission, then, represents something larger than a single joint venture. It is a statement that India and Japan see their futures in space as intertwined, that collaboration serves both nations' interests, and that the next generation of space exploration will be shaped not by Cold War-era competition but by strategic partnerships among nations with complementary strengths. The 2028 launch window is still years away, but the groundwork is being laid now—in meetings between agency leaders, in technical discussions about interfaces and instruments, and in the quiet confidence that two nations can accomplish together what neither could as easily alone.