India aims to collect soil samples from the lunar South Pole region.

According to representatives from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the "Chandrayaan-4" mission will consist of several spacecraft launched separately on two rockets.

The spacecraft will perform landing, soil sampling, ascent from the lunar surface, docking and undocking in space, as well as delivering soil samples back to Earth. The complexity of the mission will provide fundamental technologies and capabilities aimed at achieving a significant goal — sending astronauts to the surface of the Earth's natural satellite by around 2040.

The objective of "Chandrayaan-4" will be to collect approximately three kilograms of samples near the South Pole, where it is believed that water ice exists. ISRO plans to obtain samples from a depth of about two meters.

Officials from the organization did not disclose the launch date, but it is expected that the mission will commence no earlier than 2027-2028.