Vibrant Gujarat Summit: “Moon to be used as a human base for strategic activities,” says ISRO Chief S Somanath

In a move to stimulate interests in the human spaceflight ambitions, the Chief of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), S. Somanath on January 12, 2024 called to build a along term human outpost on the moon and use it as a base. He contended the lunar surface could be used for strategic activities.

Somanath’s Address at the Summit

“We also look to 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 activities, Somanath said while speaking on the second day of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2024 held in Gandhinagar,” the capital of the state of Gujarat.

Citing an example, ISRO said that strategic activity in the future will not be just limited to earth but can be done on the moon as well. “It will be around sometimes based on the moon. I think some people who are in that domain will be able to understand it a little deeper” he told the gathering.

India’s Milestones in Space Sector

India became the fourth country to make a successful landing on the lunar surface in 2023. This was done by the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Following this PM Narendra Modi said in the month of October 2023, 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 is equally important to don’t forget the Earth,” he said.

“We continue to work with a lot of ministries and departments. In the last year or so, the 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 fifty plus spacecraft or even more, 100 of which you will have to build over the next five to ten years,” he said.

In a stellar display of prowess, India soared to new heights in 2023, with the soft and successful landing on the surface on the South Pole of the Moon and the launch of Aditya L1 solar probe. 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.

Future Plans

Among other feats India now aims for are the Gaganyaan Mission in 2024-2025, setting up ‘Bhartiya 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 Gaganyaan 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.”