The Union Cabinet has approved the next steps for India’s foray into the New Space Age.
The New Space Age is not just about going out in the space and planting the flag on the Moon, but about making the Moon the stepping-stone for exploring Mars and beyond. The Cabinet approved four programmes on Wednesday that put India firmly on path of entering the New Space Age.
The Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also holds space portfolio, approved the next Moon mission Chandrayaan-4, the Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM), the construction of the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), and the first module of the Indian space station.
In the recent years, the
Indian space programme has been transitioning from one focussed on earth-centric applications of space to one focussed on making India a major spacefaring nation with space exploration, human spaceflight, and scientific mission.
While Modi had last year announced that India would have a space station by 2035 and land humans on the Moon by 2040, the Thursday’s approvals present an outline to embark on a path to fulfil these ambitions. The four space-related announcements add to each-other. For example, Chandrayaan-4 will demonstrate the capacity to come back to Earth which will be critical to the human missions to the Moon and the development of the space station has been integrated into the Gaganyaan programme by expanding its scope.
Chandrayaan-4 to bring lunar samples back
A year after the historic Chandrayaan-3 mission, the Cabinet has now approved Chandrayaan-4 which would be aimed at not just landing on the Moon but returning to Earth with lunar samples.
The Cabinet statement said the Chandrayaan-4 mission is a natural successor to the successful landing demonstrated by Chandrayaan-3.
On August 23, 2023, Chandrayaan-3 scripted history by making India the first country to land on the South Pole region of the Moon and the fourth country overall to land on the Moon after the United States, erstwhile Soviet Union, and China.
In Chandrayaan-4, India will develop and demonstrate the technologies to return to Earth after successfully landing on the Moon, collecting lunar samples, and analysing them on Earth. This will mark the achievement of foundational technologies capabilities eventually required for landing humans on the Moon by 2040 and return safely to Earth. This includes technologies required for docking and undocking, landing, and safely bringing the spacecraft to Earth.
Together with the Gaganyaan mission and its follow-ups, the Chandrayaan-4 and its follow-ups are steps towards the development of India’s space transportation and infrastructure capabilities.
With a timeline of 36 months, the Chandrayaan-4 is scheduled for late 2028 or early 2029, according to the Cabinet statement.
Venus Orbiter Mission
The Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM) is India’s latest exploratory and scientific mission. After Mars and the Sun, India is setting its eyes to study Venus.
Venus is believed to have once been formed in conditions to similar to Earth despite eventually turning out to be completely different. The Cabinet statement said that the VOM offers a unique opportunity to understand how planetary environments can evolve very differently.
The VOM is aimed to improve our understanding of the Venusian surface and subsurface, atmospheric processes, and influence of Sun on Venusian atmosphere, as per the statement.
“The study of the underlying causes of transformation of Venus, which is believed to be once habitable and quite similar to Earth would be an invaluable aid in understanding the evolution of the sister planets, both Venus and Earth,” said the Department of Space in a statement.
The VOM is expected to be accomplished around March 2028, said the statement.
Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV)
The Cabinet approved the building of the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), the rocket that would take Indians to the space station and later to the Moon.
Just like SpaceX’s pioneering reusable rockets, the NGLV will be a reusable rocket, according to a Cabinet statement.
The NGLV will have three times the present payload capability with one-and-a-half times the cost compared to LVM3.
“The goals of the Indian space programme during the Amrit Kaal require a new generation of human rated launch vehicles with high payload capability and reusability…Currently, India has achieved self-reliance in space transportation systems to launch satellites up to 10 tonne to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and 4 tonne to Geo-Synchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) through the currently operational PSLV, GSLV, LVM3 & SSLV launch vehicles,” said a statement from the Cabinet.
The NGLV will be demonstrated with three development flights with a target of eight years for the completion of the development phase.
Indian space station
The Cabinet has also approved the setting up of the Indian space station, formally dubbed the Bharatiya Anthariksh Station (BAS).
The Cabinet approved the building the first module of the BAS by extending the scope of the Gaganyaan programme, which is India’s human spaceflight programme.
Originally announced in 2018, the Gaganyaan is expected to take four Indian astronauts to space in 2025. It will be foundation for India’s human spacefaring ambitions, which intend to have a permanent presence with a space station by 2035 and land on the Moon by 2040. Previously, Firstpost reported that there have been some kind of internal deliberations about having a
research station of sorts too on the Moon at some point in future.
The target for building the first module of BAS is 2028, according to the government statement on Thursday.
“The target is to develop and demonstrate critical technologies for long duration human space missions. To achieve this goal, ISRO will undertake four missions under ongoing Gaganyaan Programme by 2026 and development of first module of BAS & four missions for demonstration & validation of various technologies for BAS by December, 2028,” read the statement.
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From Chandrayaan-4 to Space Station & beyond: Cabinet approves India’s foray into New Space Age
