New Delhi: Two months after the successful Moon landing and launch of a mission to study the Sun, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced two new targets for space agency ISRO — setting up an Indian space station by 2035 and taking the first Indian to Moon by 2040.
The Prime Minister also called on the scientists to work towards a Venus Orbiter Mission and a Mars Lander Mission. The directions came at a high-level meeting chaired by Modi to assess the progress of Gaganyaan Mission, India’s human space flight program under which the first test vehicle is slated to fly on October 21. The meeting had also been called to outline the future of India’s space exploration initiatives, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
“The Department of Space presented a comprehensive overview of Gaganyaan Mission, including various technologies developed so far such as human-rated launch vehicles and system qualification,” the PMO said. “It was noted that around 20 major tests, including 3 uncrewed missions of the Human Rated Launch Vehicle, are planned. First demonstration flight of the Crew Escape System Test Vehicle is scheduled on October 21. The meeting evaluated the mission’s readiness, affirming its launch in 2025.”
The announcement of three uncrewed missions is significant as previously it was known that there will be two such missions before the final one carrying the astronauts to space. “Building on the success of the Indian space initiatives, including the recent Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya L1 Missions, the Prime Minister 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,” the PMO statement said.
To achieve the ambitious space missions, the Department of Space has been tasked with developing a roadmap for Moon exploration, including a series of Chandrayaan missions, the PMO statement said. The next Chandrayaan mission is likely to bring back Moon samples.
