ISRO missions

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the civilian space agency. Headquarters: Bengaluru. Vikram Sarabhai is taught as the father of the Indian space programme. This page keeps completed, classroom-safe missions — not a 2026 launch manifesto.

Locked and standard dates: Aryabhata, the first Indian satellite, in 1975; Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 (and the water-on-the-Moon science story); Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) in 2013; Chandrayaan-3’s landing on 23 August 2023; Aditya-L1, the solar observatory headed to the L1 point (launched 2023 — a completed fact).

Gaganyaan, the human spaceflight project, is a named programme. Flight dates slip; we do not invent a 2026 crew launch day. Check isro.gov.in for anything that has not already touched space. Rakesh Sharma (1984, Soviet Soyuz) is the first Indian in space in the textbook — not an ISRO Gaganyaan flight.

Key points

1. Aryabhata: 1975 — first Indian satellite (launched on a Soviet vehicle in the usual teaching).
2. Chandrayaan-1: 2008 — Moon orbiter; associated with evidence of water/hydroxyl on the Moon in classroom summaries.
3. Mars Orbiter Mission / Mangalyaan: launched 5 November 2013 in the standard date; Mars orbit in 2014. First-country-to-succeed-on-first-try is the usual pride line — keep it as textbook, not a 2026 press release.
4. Chandrayaan-3: soft landing 23 August 2023 — Vikram lander, Pragyan rover, southern high-latitude lunar site in the official story.
5. Chandrayaan-2 (2019) is the predecessor that included an orbiter still used later; the 2019 landing attempt is history, not a secret 2026 retry date.
6. Aditya-L1: solar observation at the Sun–Earth L1 point; launched 2023. Do not invent a 2026 “second Aditya” date.
7. Launchers students meet: PSLV (workhorse), GSLV / LVM3 (heavier). Vehicle names evolve — confirm on isro.gov.in.
8. HQ: Bengaluru. SHAR / Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, is the usual launch site name.
9. Vikram Sarabhai; Satish Dhawan; A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (SLV-3 / missile-and-space textbook cluster) — people matching lists.
10. INSAT / GSAT are communication satellite families; IRS / Cartosat are Earth-observation families in the usual teaching. Do not invent a 2026 catalogue number.
11. First Indian in space: Rakesh Sharma, 1984. Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams are NASA astronauts of Indian origin — read the question’s wording.
12. Gaganyaan: planned human spaceflight. Dates are official-site only. We do not write a 2026 launch calendar.
13. We do not invent a 2026 Venus, lunar sample-return, or space-station launch date.
14. ISRO is not ISRO-the-stock-tip. This is a facts desk, not markets.
15. 23 August is a date to pair with Chandrayaan-3, not with Republic Day.
16. Related: literacy and population sit on other pages; space success is not a census substitute.
17. National symbols do not include a “national rocket”.
18. This page is not live launch coverage.
19. If a paper asks only one Moon date, 23 August 2023 is the one locked here.
20. Do not confuse Aryabhata the satellite (1975) with Aryabhata the ancient mathematician.
21. Foreign launch of early satellites is a history note, not a slight; later PSLV commercial launches are a different chapter.
22. Antrix / NSIL are commercial arms students sometimes see — names only.
23. CJI, RBI Governor and ISRO Chairman are three different jobs; we do not invent the 2026 Chairman’s name if it is not in the locked set.
24. For anything after Aditya-L1 that is not already on this list, open isro.gov.in.

ISRO missions — facts (2026)

Exam tip: Five-name ladder: Aryabhata 1975 → Chandrayaan-1 2008 → Mangalyaan 2013 → Chandrayaan-3 23 Aug 2023 → Aditya-L1. Stop before guessing the next rocket.

Read next

More on GKSchools

• English home
• World facts
• India facts
• All study desks
• World facts
• English home