Send an Indian to moon by 2040, PM tells Space Dept

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday tasked the Department of Space to aim to build India’s own space station by 2035 and send an Indian to the moon by 2040.

Chairing a high level meeting to assess progress of India’s Gaganyaan Mission/human space mission, he outlined the future of India’s space exploration endeavours. The meeting evaluated the mission’s readiness and affirmed that the country’s human space mission launch will happen in 2025.

The Department of Space presented a comprehensive overview of the Gaganyaan Mission, including various technologies developed so far such as human-rated launch vehicles and system qualification. It was noted that around 20 major tests, including three uncrewed missions of the Human Rated Launch Vehicle (HLVM3) are planned. The first demonstration flight of the Crew Escape System Test Vehicle is scheduled on October 21. Building on the success of the Indian space initiatives, including the recent Chandrayan-3 and Aditya L1 Missions, Modi directed that India should now aim for new and ambitious goals, including setting up ‘Bharatiya Antariksha Station’ (Indian Space Station) by 2035 and sending first Indian to the Moon by 2040.

Towards that, the Department of Space will develop a roadmap for Moon exploration. This will encompass a series of Chandrayaan missions, the development of a Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), construction of a new launch pad, setting up human-centric laboratories and associated technologies.Modi also called upon Indian scientists to work towards interplanetary missions that would include a Venus Orbiter Mission and a Mars Lander. He also expressed confidence in India’s capabilities and affirmed the nation’s commitment to scaling new heights in space exploration, an official statement said.