Indian Astronaut on Moon by 2040: ISRO Chairman S Somanath

15 December 2023Neeraj Mishra

The Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), S Somanath, has announced that ISRO is making plans to send Indian astronauts to the moon for the first time by 2040.

Key points shared by ISRO Chairman

In a special article for Manorama Year Book 2024, Somnath said that four test pilots of the Indian Air Force have been selected as astronauts for the mission.

Presently, the designated astronauts are undergoing mission-specific training at the Astronaut Training Facility (ATF) in Bengaluru.

The inaugural manned space mission, Gaganyaan, involves the development of critical technologies.

These include a human-rated launch vehicle (HLVM3), an Orbital Module consisting of a Crew Module (CM) and Service Module (SM), as well as life support systems.

Before the Gaganyaan mission, there will be two identical uncrewed missions (G1 and G2), along with Integrated Air Drop Test, Pad Abort Test, and Test Vehicle flights.

The crew module is a habitable space designed to provide an Earth-like environment for the crew in space, ensuring their safety during re-entry.

The inaugural developmental flight of the Test Vehicle (TV-D1) took place on October 21, 2023.

It successfully showcased the in-flight abort capabilities of the Crew Escape System, followed by the separation of the Crew Module and its secure recovery from the Bay of Bengal by the Indian Navy.

Somanath emphasized that the success of this test flight held significant importance for upcoming unmanned missions and the eventual human space mission, anticipated to be launched in 2025.