India plans to build a space station orbiting the Moon by 2040

SCIENCE: India plans to build a space station orbiting the moon by 2040 as part of its ambitious roadmap to establish a long-term presence beyond Earth’s orbit. The outpost will support crewed missions to the moon’s surface and serve as a hub for scientific research, according to local media reports.

If all goes according to plan, the lunar space station will be completed around the same time the country’s astronauts land on the moon, and a permanent base on the surface will be constructed before 2050. The lunar space station appears to be the third and final phase of India’s moon exploration efforts. The first phase involves conducting robotic missions to the moon using home-grown technology, including the upcoming Chandrayaan-4 sample-return mission.

The mission, scheduled to launch in 2028, aims to collect about 6.6 pounds (3 kilograms) of samples from a water-ice-rich region near the moon’s south pole and deliver them to Earth. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S. “We are looking at how we can accomplish the mission of going to the moon and returning at a low cost,” Somnath said.

The second phase is to land on the moon with a crew by 2040, followed by the construction of a station orbiting the moon, India Today reported. Apart from hosting astronauts, the station will serve as a centre for scientific research and a base for future space missions.