India’s ambitious plan to launch first space station by 2035 ‘on track’, says ISRO official
ISRO
India’s ambitious plan to have its own space station by 2035 and send an Indian astronaut to the Moon by 2040 is on track, said the project director of Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 mission, P Veeramuthuvel, on Saturday (Feb 10).
What we know so far
The Indian space agency is working to set up the country’s first space station, Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) which, according to the Indian minister of science and technology, will be assembled in a phased manner. ISRO aims to finish the project by 2035.
WATCH |ISRO to take on multiple missions: Chandrayaan-4 and Bhartiya Antriksh Station are target missions
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ISRO chairman (S Somanath) have already said that by 2040 we should have an Indian astronaut on the moon and also to have our space station by 2035,” Veeramuthuvel told news agency PTI.
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He added, “These are very ambitious plans that ISRO has taken up and we are working towards that.”
Last week, Indian Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh, in his written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament, said that the proposed configuration of BAS which is being developed by ISRO is in the conceptualisation phase.
In this phase, the space agency is studying the overall architecture, number and type of modules, docking ports, etc., said the Indian minister, in a statement on Wednesday (Feb 7).
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ISRO is also working on a ‘prospective roadmap’ for the realisation of different modules and their launches, said Dr Singh.
About the funds allocated
The Indian minister also addressed the funding for the upcoming space station saying that the allocation of funds would be sought once the feasibility studies are completed and a proposal is presented before the Indian government for approval. However, he did not mention any specific timeline.
For the year 2024-25, the Indian government has proposed an allocation of around $1.63 billion (Rs 13,042 crore) for the Department of Space (DoS), as revealed in the interim budget, earlier this month.
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The DoS is an umbrella body, which covers the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the space sector regulator IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre), and other related institutions.
ISRO’s lunar missions
In an update about ISRO’s lunar missions, Dr Singh said that the space agency’s upcoming moon exploration missions are also under conceptualisation.
It added that ISRO has undertaken feasibility studies for further robotic exploration of the Moon through orbiters, landers and rovers, along with lunar sample collection and return, adding that this would eventually be followed by human landing on the Moon.
(With inputs from agencies)