ISRO has planned multiple missions in the coming years.
ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan said that the organization planned several major missions for the coming years. He shared the roadmap in an interview with PTI. He explained updates on Chandrayaan, Gaganyaan, and other satellite launches. He said that ISRO is presently handling many projects at a time.
Seven Launches Targeted Before End of Financial Year
Narayanan said ISRO planned seven more launches before this financial year ends. One among these will be a commercial communication satellite. The list includes PSLV missions and Gaganyaan missions. He said the PSLV launch will depend fully on indigenous technology.
Chandrayaan-4 to Bring Lunar Soil Samples
The head of ISRO has confirmed that the Chandrayaan-4 mission was approved by the government. It intends to bring Moon soil to Earth. He says ISRO has planned to complete this by the year 2028. Till date, only the US, Russia, and China have been able to do it. He says the technology is complex but ISRO will achieve it soon.
India's Own Space Station by 2035
Narayanan reported that the LUPEX mission, planned with Japan's JAXA, remains in the ISRO schedule. The mission is supposed to study ice near the south pole of the Moon. He also said that work on the Indian Space Station has already begun. ISRO plans to complete it by 2035. Five modules will be placed in orbit by 2028. This will make India the third country in the world to build a space station. He further said that ISRO plans to triple the annual production of spacecraft within three years to meet the mission demand.
Updated Gaganyaan Timeline
Narayanan explained the timelines pertaining to the Gaganyaan mission. Only the unmanned missions have slightly different deadlines, while the target for launching the first crewed mission remains at 2027. Three unmanned test missions would be carried out prior to sending Indian astronauts. He said the Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants India to send astronauts to the Moon and bring them back safely by 2040.
Growth in India's Space Economy Narayanan said that India's current share in the global space economy is about two percent, while ISRO aims to increase the figure to eight percent by 2030. The value of India's space economy stands at $8.2 billion, likely to touch $44 billion by 2033. Globally, it is valued at $630 billion and may grow to $1.8 trillion by 2035. He also spoke about private participation increasing sharply after the 2020 reforms in the space sector. From a mere three startups a few years ago, today India has 450 companies and 330 startups working in this sector.
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