He indicated that Chandrayaan-4 marks the initial stride towards India’s aspiration of landing an astronaut on the moon by 2040.

Addressing a press conference, Somnath said, “Chandrayaan-4 is a concept that we are now developing as a continuation of the Chandrayaan series…our honourable Prime Minister has announced that an Indian will land on the moon in 2040. So, if that has to happen, we have to have continuous moon exploration of various kinds.”

“Chandrayaan-4 is the first step in the direction….to step a craft on the moon and collect sample and bring it back to Earth. It demonstrates the full cycle of going to the moon and coming back to Earth,” he added.

Also Read: Interest in moon not over yet! What next for ISRO after successful Chandrayaan-3 mission? Somanath reveals THIS

Somnath further said that ISRO is working on plenty of other projects ranging from rocket and satellite projects to technology development projects. “There are plenty. We have major projects, rocket projects, we have satellite projects, application projects and technology development projects. Rocket projects are around 5-10, satellite projects are about 30-40, and application projects are in 100s and R&D projects are in 1000s,” he added.

India made significant strides in space exploration with the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 lander module on the moon’s South Pole on August 23, marking a historic achievement as the first country to accomplish this feat.

Also Read: Chandrayaan 4 mission will be ‘extremely challenging’: ISRO chief Somanath shares details about next lunar project

Earlier in January, India launched its inaugural dedicated solar mission, the Aditya-L1 spacecraft, positioning it into the Halo orbit around the sun.

Furthermore, the Gaganyaan project stands as another pivotal endeavor for India, aiming to demonstrate human spaceflight capability by sending a crew of three members into a 400 km orbit for a 3-day mission, safely returning them to Earth by landing in Indian waters.

(With inputs from ANI)

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Published: 10 Apr 2024, 01:18 PM IST