Space station by ’35; Indian on Moon by ’40

NEW DELHI: Buoyed by the success of the Chandrayaan mission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday set ambitious goals for ISRO, asking the space agency to set up an Indian Space Station by 2035 and send the first Indian to the moon by 2040.

Modi’s directions came during a briefing by ISRO chairman S Somanath on the progress of the Gaganyaan mission, which is to have its first demonstration flight of the crew escape system on October 21, and other initiatives. A PMO statement said India’s first human space flight is now expected to take off in 2025.

Outlining the future of India’s space exploration endeavours, Modi urged scientists to work towards interplanetary missions, including a Venus Orbiter Mission and a Mars Lander, and also explore the Moon in greater detail.

“The Prime Minister directed that India should now aim for new and ambitious goals, including setting up the ‘Bharatiya Antariksha Station’ (Indian space station) by 2035 and sending first Indian to the Moon by 2040,” the statement said. To realise this, the Space department would develop a roadmap for Moon exploration, it said.

ISRO’s moon exploration plans will comprise a series of Chandrayaan missions, developing a new rocket, Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), building a new launchpad, and setting up human-centric laboratories, etc.

The department presented a comprehensive overview of the Gaganyaan Mission, including various technologies developed so far such as human-rated launch vehicles and system qualification.

Around 20 major tests, including three uncrewed missions of the Human Rated Launch Vehicle (HLVM3), are planned.