"India Committed To Manned Lunar Landing By 2040": Union Minister Puri Calls Chandrayaan-3 Just The Beginning

On Friday (15 December), Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced that India's lunar exploration efforts are poised to escalate, with the Chandrayaan-3 mission being just the starting point. Puri confirmed India's ambition to land a man on the moon by 2040, highlighting the government's steadfast backing for the space sector, Zee Business reported.

Puri announced in a press conference, "We are transparently and unequivocally announcing the launch of Chandrayaan-3 as the genesis of a grander mission. Our commitment is to achieve a manned lunar landing by 2040. In the same vein, we aim to evolve India into a developed country by 2047, during the period of Amrit Kaal. The Gaganyaan projects have been conceptualized to showcase our human spaceflight abilities, further reinforcing our dedication to lunar exploration by 2040."

The Gaganyaan project, a cornerstone of India's space ambitions, is designed to demonstrate human spaceflight abilities by propelling a trio of astronauts into a 400 km orbit for a mission lasting three days. This would place India as the fourth country to execute a manned spaceflight mission, following the United States, Russia, and China.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) for reaching a new landmark in space technology. Following ISRO's announcement, Modi took to social media to express his congratulations, saying, "Congratulations @isro. Another technological achievement has been marked in our future space efforts, which includes our aim to send an Indian to the Moon by 2040."

ISRO underscored an exceptional experiment, detailing how the Propulsion Module of Chandrayaan-3 effectively shifted from a lunar orbit to an Earth orbit. This groundbreaking procedure included an orbit-raising and Trans-Earth injection, demonstrating India's impressive capabilities in the realm of space exploration.

The mission of Chandrayaan-3, which took off on 14 July was to showcase a gentle landing near the lunar south polar area and undertake experimental operations using the tools on Vikram and Pragyaan. The successful landing of the Vikram Lander on the Moon on 23 August, followed by the operation of the Pragyan rover, achieved the mission's goals, signifying a significant milestone for India's space exploration endeavors.