1 of 2 | After a series of successful space exploration milestones, including the launch of the Aditya-L1 solar observation mission shown here, the Indian government says it plans on building an Indian space station by 2035 and landing an Indian crew on the moon by 2040. File Photo by Piyal Adhikary/EPA-EFE
Oct. 17 (UPI) — The Indian government is aiming to establish its own space station by 2035 and send an Indian crew to the moon by 2040.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office announced these ambitious goals following a meeting to discuss the progress of India’s Gaganyaan program, which aims to enable independent crewed missions into space.
“It was noted that around 20 major tests, including three unmanned missions of the Human Rated Launch Vehicle (HLVM3), are planned,” stated the press release from the prime minister’s office on Tuesday.
In August, India successfully landed its Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission on the moon.
In September, the Aditya-L1 spacecraft, designed to study solar magnetic storms, successfully departed on its mission.
“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,” added the prime minister’s office.
The Indian Space Research Organization is currently conducting tests on the Gaganyaan capsule and hopes to undertake crewed missions in the coming years.
“The Department of Space will focus on moon exploration, including a series of Chandrayaan missions and the development of the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV),” stated the prime minister’s office.
In 1984, India’s first astronaut, Rakesh Sharma, spent time aboard the Soviet Salyut 7 space station.
Indian-American astronaut Kalpana Chawla became the first Indian woman to travel to space in 1997 when she flew aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. Unfortunately, Chawla was killed in 2003 when the Columbia disintegrated during reentry.
