India’s next lunar mission LUPEX which will be launched in the next few years in collaboration with Japan will be a precursor to the country’s ambitious lunar sample return mission, said a top space scientist.
Anil Bharadwaj, director, Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), who delivered a public lecture on the Lunar Exploration Program of India on Wednesday said that LUPEX will be a precursor to ISRO’s lunar sample return mission and for sending the first Indian to the moon by 2040.
“In our previous lunar missions, we have already successfully demonstrated orbiting, landing and rovering. The next step is that we should bring something back from the moon. That is why we are participating in the LUPEX mission which is going to be very useful for future sampling missions and landing of humans on the surface of the moon by 2040,” Dr Bharadwaj said.
