India’s first mission to the Moon.
Launched in 2008, Chandrayaan‑1 was India’s first lunar mission and marked its arrival as a deep‑space agency. The orbiter mapped the Moon in multiple wavelengths and famously helped confirm the presence of water molecules on the lunar surface.
Chandrayaan‑1 was built on a tight budget, flew international instruments, and still produced world‑class science.
It set the template for ISRO’s “maximum science per rupee” philosophy.
The orbiter carried a mix of Indian and international instruments: mineral mappers, X‑ray and gamma‑ray spectrometers, a radar altimeter and more. A Moon Impact Probe was also released to study the thin lunar exosphere during descent.
A small probe that hard‑landed near the south pole, carrying a mass spectrometer and video camera.
A NASA‑built instrument that played a key role in confirming water signatures in lunar regolith.