PM ‘directs’ ISRO to land man on moon by 2040, work towards interplanetary missions

Source: The post is based on the article “PM ‘directs’ ISRO to land man on moon by 2040, work towards interplanetary missions” published in “The Hindu” on 18th October 2023

What is the News?

The Prime Minister chaired the meeting to assess the progress of the Gaganyaan mission and outline the future of Indian space exploration. 

What are the key highlights from the meeting?

Gaganyaan Mission is scheduled to be launched in 2025. It aims to demonstrate human spaceflight capability by launching a human crew to an orbit of 400 km and bringing them back safely to earth, by landing in Indian sea waters.

Indian on Moon: PM has said that ISRO should now plan to land an Indian on the moon by 2040.This will strengthen India’s position in the space field.

– Note: The US is planning to send the first humans to explore the region near the south pole of the moon later this decade, in a mission called Artemis ll. 

– China has also planned to place astronauts on the moon by 2030.

Indigenous space station:  PM has said that India should now aim for setting up ‘Bharatiya Antariksha Station’ (Indian Space Station) by 2035.

– International Space Station: It has been developed and maintained by the U.S., Russia, Canada, Japan, and European agencies.It is the largest space station.It is expected to be decommissioned by 2030.

Interplanetary Missions:

– Shukrayaan-1: It is a proposed mission of ISRO.It aims to study the surface and atmosphere of Venus.

– Mangalyaan 2: It is a proposed second mission to Mars by ISRO.It will study aspects of Mars, including interplanetary dust, and the Martian atmosphere and environment.