India aims to send humans on Moon by 2047: Former ISRO Chairman S Somanath
Oct 28, 2025
Kannur (Kerala) [India], October 28 : Indian Space Research Organisation is aiming to land humans on the Moon by 2047 and ensure their safe return, former ISRO Chairman S Somanath said on Tuesday.
Somanath told reporters that ISRO has approved Chandrayaan 4 and Chandrayaan 5, and also aims to create India's own space station.
Former ISRO Chairman said, "Mission 2047, announced by PM Modi a few months ago, includes multiple objectives. Our Gaganyaan programme has commenced, and Chandrayaan 3 has also successfully landed on the south pole. Considering these two achievements, we are creating a list of goals to land humans on the Moon by 2047 and ensure their safe return. This will coincide with our country's 100th Independence Day and Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav."
"To achieve this, many tasks must be undertaken. It includes continuing the Chandrayaan programme; we have already approved Chandrayaan 4 and Chandrayaan 5, so we can develop technology for a safe return. Additionally, we aim to create our own space station, with its design currently being prepared," he added.
He added that India aims to contribute 10 to 12 per cent to the global space economy and, to achieve its goals, the space organisation has increased the power of the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 by four times.
"For these initiatives, we need a powerful rocket. We have increased the power of our LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3) rocket fourfold and need to finalise its design and readiness. Furthermore, we aim to increase our participation in the space economy by 10-12 per cent, which requires expanding our companies and businesses in this domain. This is the plan for the next five years," he said.
This comes after ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan announced on September 9 that the space organisation is working on Chandrayaan 4 and Chandrayaan 5, and added that the completed module of the space station will be placed in orbit by 2035.
The Chandrayaan 4 mission will be a Venus Orbiter Mission. Chandrayaan-3 was launched on July 14, 2023, to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface.
Meanwhile, after Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla's successful return from NASA's Axiom-4 mission, India is gearing up for the Gaganyaan project, which, as per ISRO, will launch a crew of three members to an orbit of 400 km for three days and bring them back safely to earth, by landing in Indian sea waters.
