BENGALURU, India, Oct. 25, 2026 - ISRO Chairman V Narayanan has laid out the agency's updated space roadmap, including new launch infrastructure and upcoming lunar mission plans.

Narayanan confirmed that ISRO will operate four functional launch pads by 2029.

A 2000-acre dedicated complex for the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle will be constructed at Kulasekarapattinam, Tuticorin district.

Also confirmed in the roadmap is Chandrayaan-5, a joint lunar mission with Japan. The mission will carry a 350kg rover planned for 100 days of surface operations.

Impact Insight. Launch pad capacity is the hard physical limit on how often any space agency can fly missions. Dedicated infrastructure for small launch vehicles removes scheduling conflicts with larger deep space and crew flights, and cuts lead times for commercial and scientific small payloads. Bilateral lunar mission partnerships allow participating agencies to share engineering cost and risk, while increasing the total science output that can be delivered on the lunar surface.