‘Indian Space Station by 2035, 1st Indian on moon by 2040,’ PM Modi to scientists

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting with Department of Space officials on Gaganyaan, India's first manned space mission. The huddle taking place days ahead of the first demonstration flight of the Crew Escape Test Vehicle evaluated the mission's readiness, affirming its launch in 2025.

During the meeting, the Department of Space presented to the prime minister a comprehensive overview of the 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 3 uncrewed missions of the Human Rated Launch Vehicle (HLVM3) are planned, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.

During the meeting, PM Modi directed that India should now aim for ambitious goals including the set up of a ‘Bharatiya Antariksha Station’ (Indian Space Station) by 2035 and sending the first Indian to the Moon by 2040.

The Department of Space, headed by the prime minister, will develop a roadmap for the Moon exploration. It will encompass a series of Chandrayaan missions, the development of a Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), the construction of a new launch pad, and setting up human-centric Laboratories and associated technologies, the PMO statement added.

PM Modi also called upon Indian scientists to work towards interplanetary missions that would include a Venus Orbiter Mission and a Mars Lander. He expressed confidence in India’s capabilities and affirmed the nation's commitment to scaling new heights in space exploration.

The maiden test flight of an unmanned crew module of the Gaganyaan will be launched from Sriharikota on the morning of October 21.

“Mission Gaganyaan: The TV-D1 test flight is scheduled for October 21, 2023 between 7 am and 9 am from SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota. #Gaganyaan,” ISRO posted on X.

India has already achieved the distinction of becoming the first country to touch down on the Moon's South Pole, after Chandrayaan 3 made a soft landing on the lunar surface on August 23. The country's first solar mission Aditya L1 was successfully launched on September 2.

On Aditya L1 mission, ISRO posted on X, “The Spacecraft is healthy and on its way to Sun-Earth L1. A Trajectory Correction Maneuvre (TCM), originally provisioned, was performed on October 6, 2023, for about 16 s. It was needed to correct the trajectory evaluated after tracking the Trans-Lagrangean Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) maneuvre performed on September 19, 2023. TCM ensures that the spacecraft is on its intended path towards the Halo orbit insertion around L1. As Aditya-L1 continues to move ahead, the magnetometer will be turned on again within a few days.”