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In a move to stimulate interest in human spaceflight ambitions, the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Chairman, S Somanath on Thursday called to build a long-term human outpost on the Moon and use it as a base.
He contended that the lunar surface could potentially be used for strategic activities. "We also look at the Moon as a base when you look at human access to the Moon and continued access to the Moon in the long term. It also has an economic impact on our space activity," Somanath said on the permanent presence of humans on the Moon while speaking on the second day of the ongoing Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit. Citing an example, ISRO said that strategic activity in the future will not be around Earth alone. "It will be around sometimes, based on Moon. I think some of the people who are in that domain will be able to understand it a little deeper," he told the gathering. India became the fourth country to make a successful robotic moon landing this year with its Chandrayaan-3 mission. Following this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in October that India should aim for "new and ambitious goals," including putting astronauts on the moon by 2040. "So we have a lot to connect with that type of vision that the Prime Minister has given. It's equally important to don't forget Earth," he said on a lighter note. A lot of work continues to be done on Earth, he asserted. "We continue to work with a lot of ministries and departments. In the last year or so, we have aggregated the demand of the country in terms of agriculture, weather forecasting, disaster warning, water resources, cartography, strategic intelligence gathering, supplying to various users and almost 50 plus spacecraft or even more, 100 of which you have to build over the next five to ten years," the ISRO chief said. In a stellar display of prowess, India soared to new heights in 2023 with the successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the South Pole of the Moon and the launch of Aditya-L1, India's first solar mission. These milestones not only secured India's standing in the global space economy but also fueled the engines for the private space sector in India. Among other feats India now aims for are the Gaganyaan Mission in 2024-2025, setting up 'Bharatiya Antariksha Station' by 2035, and sending the first Indian to the Moon by 2040. "We must create a continuous activity of human presence in space. Though we have a Gaganyan programme, it must continue over a long period leading up to the human landing on the Moon. India's landing on the Moon by 2040 looks far away, but it's not far away. It's so close," Somanath said today. "And we must build a space station by 2035, a space station that is accessible for Indians to go and do research." (ANI)
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