Chandrayaan, series of Indian lunar space probes. Chandrayaan-1 (chandrayaan is Hindi for “moon craft”) was the first lunar space probe of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and found water on the Moon. It mapped the Moon in infrared, visible, and X-ray light from lunar orbit and used reflected radiation to prospect for various elements, minerals, and ice. It operated in 2008–09. Chandrayaan-2, which launched in 2019, was designed to be ISRO’s first lunar lander. A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle launched the 590-kg (1,300-pound) Chandrayaan-1 on October 22, 2008, from the ...