India plans to send astronauts to moon by 2040: Ex-ISRO chief

India plans to land its astronauts on the Moon by 2040, former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief AS Kiran Kumar said on Wednesday.

Kumar, who is currently the chairman of the management council of the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), was speaking at the inauguration of the 5th Astronomical Society of India (ASI) Symposium.

“Between now and 2040, there are a whole lot of missions which are going to go into space activities. So, 2040 is a plan where we want to land Indians on the Moon and bring them back safely. India is also working towards building a space station by 2040,” he said.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the event held at the PRL campus, the former Indian Space Research Organisation head elaborated on the country’s space roadmap.

In the immediate future, there will be a Chandrayaan follow-on mission, and work was underway with Japan for a lander and rover, he said.

“We should be trying to look for some specific information in the South Polar region (of the Moon). It will only be the beginning of a whole lot of activities beyond that. India, as a country, is committed to doing space observation and then understanding the universe,” Kumar said. This will up open up a lot of opportunities for academic institutions, engineering institutions and even private companies to contribute to India’s space exploration, he said.

In his speech before the gathering of scientists and students during the inaugural session, Kumar said India is the only country which started building space technology primarily for societal benefits and not for military purposes. Dr Vikram Sarabhai’s contribution to India’s space sector, when the country was only 10 years into Independence, was phenomenal, he said.