After successful missions to study the Moon and Sun, India is now aiming to ace the space race with the Gaganyaan mission.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Feb 27, 2024 disclosed the names of Indian astronauts who will go to space in the country’s own Gaganyaan space mission.
But ISRO’s Gaganyaan reality is embedded in former Indian president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam’s vision.
In his 2012 book Turning Points: A journey through challenges, Kalam described ISRO’s Chandrayaan mission as “just the first step towards India’s further planetary explorations and manned missions”.
The Vikram Lander of Chandrayaan-3 space mission landed on the south pole of Moon in August 2023, a pitstop in the grand space vision Kalam put forth for ISRO.
In a 2003 speech to ISRO scientists, Kalam said: “I visualise a scene, in the year 2021, when I will be 90 years old and visiting the Sriharikota spaceport for boarding the space plane so that I can reach another planet and return safely as one of the passengers.”
Kalam passed away in July 2015. But his vision lives on. ISRO is making India live Kalam’s vision, one mission at a time.
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