ISRO - Indian Space Research Organisation
1969-present
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Who
India's space agency, founded 1969, headquartered in Bengaluru; the research arm of the Department of Space, which answers to the Prime Minister's office - how a democracy staffs a space programme. The published annual budget is roughly US$1.6 bn (commonly cited, parliamentary appropriation); ESA's 2026 budget of €8.3 bn is about US$9 bn at early-2026 rates - so ISRO works at roughly one-fifth the money.
Why it matters
The cost curve is the story, so keep the arithmetic in view: roughly one-fifth of ESA's budget, and the record includes the first nation to reach Mars orbit on the first attempt (Mars Orbiter Mission, 2014 - the commonly cited cost is ~US$74 M; official figures are not published, keep the hedge). Chandrayaan-1 carried NASA's M3 instrument, and together they got the credit: M3 confirmed water molecules on the Moon (2008-09). Chandrayaan-3 soft-landed at 18:04 IST on 23 Aug 2023, near 69.5°S - the fourth agency to land on the Moon, the first ever near the south pole, on the attempt after Chandrayaan-2's lander crashed 500 m short in 2019. Aditya-L1 now flies a halo orbit at L1. Gaganyaan, the crewed programme, has slipped from a 2022 announcement to no earlier than 2027 - deadlines are predictions. And the sector opened: on 18 July 2026 Skyroot's Vikram-1 reached orbit, India's first private orbital-class launch - after a failed first attempt in November 2024. Status: September 2026.
Lineage
Built on the sounding-rocket programme at Thumba and the PSLV workhorse. Partners across the collection: NASA on M3 and the Axiom crew seat, and a neighbour with a bigger budget - see the CNSA card.