ISRO chairman S Somanath on Saturday said that India is targeting to increase the nation's global contribution to the space economy to at least 10 per cent in the next decade, which is currently at 2 per cent. Somnath said this while delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture at Akashvani (All India Radio), the Indian Express reported.
Dates of upcoming missions
Somnath also revealed dates for India's upcoming space missions. According to him, Gaganyan, the country's first manned mission to space is likely to be launched in 2026. Moreover, sample return mission Chandrayan-4 is likely to be launched in 2028.
The biggest update is on India-US joint NISAR mission, which is much delayed as is likely to be launched next year. Apart from these mission, Somnath announced details of the Chandrayan-5 mission which would be a joint moon-landing mission with Japan space agency JAXA, originally named LUPEX, or Lunar Polar Exploration
Announcement on Chandrayan 5
The ISRO chairman disclosed that, would be the Chandrayaan-5 mission. He did not mention the expected time frame for launch. However, the exact time frame for the same was not disclosed by him. However, the launch of the LUPEX mission was earlier scheduled in the 2025 time frame, but now that it has been described as Chandrayaan-5, it can only be expected after 2028 when Chandrayaan-4 is scheduled.
Providing details, Somanath said, “It would be a very heavy mission in which the lander would be provided by India, while the rover would come from Japan. The rover on Chandrayaan-3 was only about 27 kg in weight. But this mission would carry a 350-kg rover. It is a science-heavy mission which would take us one step closer to landing human beings on the moon.”
Need for indeginisation
Backing private investments in the space sector, Somnath said that opening the sector along with enabling new policies, and the enthusiasm shown by young entrepreneurs has created a vibrant space ecosystem in India. Emphasising the need for greater indigenisation of space technologies, ISRO chairman S Somanath on Saturday said India was aiming to increase its contribution in the global space economy to at least 10 per cent in the next decade, from the current 2 per cent.
“Several industries, big and small, have expressed interest in investing in the space sector. And ISRO is doing its best to help them come and participate. Lots of activities which could traditionally be done only by ISRO are now being done by private industry. Rockets are a good example. These kinds of things were already happening in some other countries. These have begun to take shape in India as well. We are helping, empowering, guiding these companies,” Somanath said.
Emphasising the need for the indigenisation of crucial materials in space technology, Somnath said, “A lot of critical items used in the space sector still come from outside. We will have to create the capability to build a lot of these within our country. There has to be greater indigenisation of advanced research and development as well.”
