New Delhi: India’s crewed mission to space, Gaganyaan, will be launched in 2025, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting Tuesday to assess the progress of this mission, and also to “outline the future of India’s space exploration and endeavours”.
Modi said India should now aim for “new and ambitious goals”, including setting up a “Bharatiya Antarakshiya Station (Indian space Station)” by 2035 and sending the first Indian to the moon by 2040.
The Department of Space presented an overview of the Gaganyaan Mission to the Prime Minister, including various technologies developed so far such as the 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 (HLMV3) are planned. First demonstration flight of the Crew Escape System Test Vehicle is scheduled on 21 October. The meeting evaluated the mission’s readiness, affirming its launch in 2025,” the statement read.
The Gaganyaan mission aims to demonstrate the capability to launch human beings — three crew members — to low-earth orbit and bring them back safely by landing them either in the Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea.
Modi urged Indian scientists to work towards interplanetary missions that would include a Venus orbiter mission and a Mars lander. The Prime Minister also “affirmed the nation’s commitment to scaling new heights in space exploration”.