New Delhi: An Indian will land on the surface of the Moon, fifteen years from now, in the year 2040, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said on the occasion of India’s first-ever National Space Day, today.
National Space Day is being celebrated to commemorate the successful landing of the ‘Vikram’ Lander on the surface of the Moon on August 23, 2023. Chandrayaan-3’s historic landing on the Moon’s South Pole, he said was a feat that astonished the world and established India as a leader in space exploration.
The Minister outlined the Space Vision 2047, which includes the commissioning of the Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS) by 2035 and Indian astronauts landing on the Moon by 2040. He expressed confidence that what begins with human spaceflight in Low Earth Orbit will expand to India’s scientific activities onboard an indigenous space station, leading to further lunar exploration and beyond.
He highlighted India’s end-to-end capabilities in Space transportation, platforms, and ground stations as a key aspect of the country’s self-reliance in the space sector. He also underscored the impact of space applications on sectors such as fisheries, agriculture, natural resource management, disaster management, and satellite communication, which have all benefited from India’s space advancements.
The Minister of State for Space also noted the significant increase in Space startups, now numbering nearly 300, following the opening of the Space sector to private participation. He echoed the Finance Minister’s projection that India’s space economy will grow from $8 billion to $44 billion in the next decade.
“In the last six decades, India has not only touched the lives of its citizens but also reached the Moon,” he said and emphasized the significant progress made in the past decade, including the successful Mars Orbiter Mission, the launch of AstroSat, Chandrayaan-2, and Chandrayaan-3, the upcoming Aditya-L1 solar mission, and the XPoSat, an X-Ray astronomy mission.
On the occasion of National Space Day, President Droupadi Murmu today presented awards to winners of ‘Robotics Challenge’ and ‘Bharatiya Antariksh Hackathon’ today. She appreciated the dedicated scientists who have placed India’s space programme among the best space programmes in the world by using minimum resources. She expressed confidence that India will make continuous progress in space science and we will continue to set new standards of excellence.
The President pointed out that with the opening of the space sector to the private sector, the number of start-ups increased at a very rapid pace. This not only brought progress in space research but also gave new opportunities to youth to showcase and hone their talents. She noted that just a few months ago, an Indian company successfully launched a single-piece 3D printed semi-cryogenic engine-powered rocket, the first such achievement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting the government’s commitment to advancing the space sector, noted, “Our Government has taken a series of futuristic decisions relating to this sector and we will do even more in the times to come.”
– global bihari bureau
