ISRO to send astronaut to Moon by 2040: Somanath
The chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), S Somanath, has shared the organization's ambitious plans for the future. He revealed that ISRO has a roadmap in place until 2047. This includes building a space station, sending humans to the Moon, and "creating Moon-based economic activity in space." "After the success of Chandrayaan-3, there is a huge demand about what is next for ISRO in the coming 25 years," mentioned Somanath.
Lunar mission and Gaganyaan
Somanath announced that ISRO aims to send an Indian astronaut to the Moon as soon as 2040. ISRO is also gearing up for the Gaganyaan program, which will include India's first-ever crewed space mission. The mission will take three astronauts to a 400km orbit for three days and return them to Earth, with a splashdown in Indian waters. It might launch in 2025. Before the actual crewed mission, ISRO will conduct several tests.
Indigenously developed life support system for human space flight mission
Earlier this month, Somanath revealed that ISRO would develop the environmental control and life support system (ECLSS) for the human space flight mission indigenously after failing to acquire it from other countries. He stated, "We have no experience in developing an environmental control life support system. We were only designing rockets and satellites." Somanath added, "We thought that this knowledge would come from other nations, but unfortunately, after so much discussion, nobody is willing to give it to us."
Satellites for geo-intelligence gathering
India is also planning to launch 50 satellites in the next five years for geo-intelligence purposes. This includes creating a layer of satellites in different orbits that will be capable of tracking troop movements and imaging thousands of kilometers of area. Meanwhile, the Aditya-L1 coronagraphy spacecraft will reach its target destination, the Lagrange point 1 (L1), on January 6. Its vantage position at the L1 point, approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, will allow continuous monitoring of the Sun.
