India to send man into space by 2027, land on Moon by 2040

Ranchi: ISRO chairman V Narayanan on Wednesday said the space agency has set a target of landing Indians on the Moon by 2040, while its maiden human spaceflight mission 'Gaganyaan' is on track for launch in 2027.

Narayanan said a slew of ambitious space projects and sector reforms were currently underway, including a national space station by 2035, and three uncrewed 'Gaganyaan' missions by 2026, with the first one that includes a half-humanoid robot 'Vyommitra', targeted for December 2025.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a guideline for an indigenous crewed lunar mission by 2040, under which we have to land our own citizens on the moon and bring them back safely. A Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM) has also been approved to study the planet," Narayanan said in an interview.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief said the Bharatiya Antriksh Station (BAS) is expected to come up by 2035, and initial modules in space are expected as early as 2027.

Narayanan was in Ranchi to attend the 35th convocation ceremony of Ranchi-based Birla Institute of Technology (BIT) Mesra as the chief guest.

"There are a lot of developments in 'Gaganyaan'. We are planning some more experiments. Before the crewed mission, we are planning three uncrewed missions. 'Vyommitra' is going to fly on that in December this year. Two more uncrewed missions will take place next year. Crewed 'Gaganyaan' mission would be possible by 2027 first quarter," Narayanan added.

With Modi defining a clear roadmap and rolling out reforms for the space sector, ISRO is moving with confidence and clarity towards realising the dream of a self-reliant and vibrant space ecosystem, he said.

He said India's upcoming projects include Chandrayaan-4 and Chandrayaan-5, a new Mars mission, and AXOM, a high-priority astronomical observatory mission.

"The Aditya-L1 mission has already yielded over 15 terabits of solar data, with valuable insights into coronal mass ejections and space weather," Narayanan added. "We are open to international collaborations," he said, emphasising that while India is committed to self-reliance, climate science and space research, which are global concerns, "how and where we collaborate will be debated and decided based on scientific and strategic priorities."

Highlighting the role of reforms, Narayanan said the space sector has been transformed through the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), which integrates startups and private players into the national ecosystem.

"Just a few years ago, there were barely one or two startups in the space sector. Today, there are over 300 working on satellite manufacturing, launch services, and space-based data analytics," he said.

"This shift is seen as crucial to meeting India's rising demand for satellite-based applications in agriculture, disaster management, telecommunication, real-time train and vehicle monitoring, and fisheries," he added.