India to Reach for the Stars: ISRO Sets Sights on Gaganyaan Mission!
The chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), S Somanath, highlighted the organization’s current emphasis on the Gaganyaan mission, India’s first human space flight program. While ISRO is actively pursuing various goals, Somanath stated that their primary focus is to successfully send an Indian astronaut to space and ensure their safe return. This mission is currently their top priority.
The Gaganyaan mission has the ambitious goal of sending humans into space and placing them in low Earth orbit at an altitude of 400 kilometers for a three-day mission scheduled for 2025.
ISRO’s vision
According to Somanath, the agency plans to launch the first module of the Indian space station by 2028, with the goal of completing the entire station by 2035.
NASA helps India’s astronaut training
In October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered ISRO to aim for a manned moon by 2040 and set up an Indian space station by 2035.
Highlighting international cooperation, Somanath said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced on Tuesday that the US space agency will help train an Indian astronaut by the end of 2024.
While updating another ongoing mission, Somanath said the Aditya-L1 mission, India’s first space-based solar research mission, is progressing as planned. “We expect it to arrive at Lagrange point 1 (L1) by January 7. We had to make some moves,” he explained. The spacecraft is supposed to be placed around L1, about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, giving it the advantage of continuously observing the Sun without eclipses.
Reflecting on past achievements, Somanath highlighted the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, India’s third lunar exploration mission. “Chandrayaan–3 has created an inspiration for everyone. We are the fourth nation to land any craft on the moon and the first to land on the southern hemisphere. All this shows that India’s scientific and engineering prowess is very high. We did not depend on anyone to build the craft and design the mission. We consulted many people. The whole creation is ours,” he proudly stated.
