"India Announces Ambitious Space Development Plan to Send Astronauts to the Moon by 2040"

Development of Manned Spacecraft by 2025
"Manned Spacecraft Launch Test Scheduled for This Week"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In August, India became the first country in the world to land a probe on the lunar south pole, and now it has announced a goal to send astronauts to the Moon by 2040.

According to the Indian daily Times of India on the 18th (local time), the Indian government held a space exploration meeting the day before and announced this space development plan. The Indian government stated in a press release, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed to set a new and ambitious goal to build a space station by 2035 and send Indians to the Moon by 2040."

To achieve this, India plans to develop its first manned spacecraft, Gaganyaan, by 2025. With competitor China already constructing its own space station, Tiangong, the Indian government appears to be accelerating its exploration schedule. India is also expected to conduct a manned spacecraft launch test within this week.

Earlier, in August, India landed the unmanned probe Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar south pole and conducted exploration. Additionally, last month, India launched a satellite for solar observation, intensifying its space development efforts.

Recently, as several countries have rushed into lunar exploration, interest has grown not only in pure lunar exploration and research but also in utilizing resources discovered on the Moon.

The United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is conducting the Artemis Project to build a habitable lunar base. According to this plan, astronauts will land on the lunar south pole in 2025. By 2028, a lunar base will be established to support private companies in developing communication networks and rovers on the Moon.

China also plans to land Chang'e 7 on the lunar south pole by 2026, build a research base there by 2028, and send a manned spacecraft by 2030. China is already considered to have leading space exploration capabilities, having been the first in the world to land on the far side of the Moon and collect lunar soil samples to bring back to Earth.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.