Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) Chairman V Narayanan spoke with Satarupa Bhattacharjya of Business Standard at the Blueprint Discourse in New Delhi on Saturday about setting up India’s space station in the future, a human spaceflight, and planned moon landing, as well as the strategic importance of satellites. Edited excerpts:
You took charge of the Isro in January. How is India contributing to global space research?
Chandrayaan-3’s success was a landmark in our space journey. It has given confidence to every one of us, not only at the Isro but also across the nation. Every Indian felt proud at that moment. It has given us the courage to take up more challenging missions, and that is the most important outcome.
India has the best camera in the moon’s orbit today. We are also the only country to have soft-landed near the south pole of the moon.
We have found eight minerals on the moon’s surface. Our probe has taken the temperature profile (among other things). Our rover has found some places on the moon that have seismic activity (similar to earthquakes).
India has planned a moon landing by 2040. That would be 71 years since the first moon landing. What is expected to be found in the future mission?
We are in the preliminary stage of studying this. Our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given me a direction and guidelines to work on this mission — we are to land our Indian brothers or sisters on the moon, using our own rocket and bring them back safely, of course, after carrying out a lot of experiments. This is the objective of the mission.
Although many have studied the moon, India is the first country, along with the US, to find water molecules on the moon. This was a great discovery (Chandrayaan-1). This programme (the future mission) involves technology development. Indians will bring a lot of value-addition to the understanding of the moon.
But you must understand one thing: When the US did the first moon landing in 1969, the Isro was just formed. We then had a tiny rocket. We were 70 years behind the advanced country. When we got our Independence in 1949, the vast majority of Indians lived below the poverty line. Hardly 12 per cent of Indians were literate then. Today, that number is 79-80 per cent. The average lifespan of an Indian was just 32 years at the time of our Independence. Our prioritises were different. Even when the Isro started, the priority was not space missions but how to help improve the lives of the common people.
We have come a long way. Today, it is the right time to plan for our landing on the moon. We need not talk about 71 years. India is in the right direction. This is the time to go for that programme.
Another exciting area is the Gaganyaan mission, the first human spaceflight that India is planning? Why is it taking so long?
The safety of the humans is key to this mission, so we cannot take risks. We have to ‘human-rate’ the launch vehicle. That has to be demonstrated through a large number of test programmes. We have to develop the module (in which humans will travel under controlled pressure, temperature, humidity and such other factors). All that has to be in an automated mode. We are indigenously developing it. About 75-80 per cent of the development is complete. The rocket will travel at a velocity of at least 28,400 km per second, so we need all safety checks in place.
We have already demonstrated the crew-escape system, and we will have one more test shortly. We will have three uncrewed missions (before sending humans). The first is planned for this December. It will be undertaken by a humanoid.
Please share an update of India’s plan to set up a space station by 2035.
Yes, we plan to have an indigenous space station by 2035. The configuration is complete. It is a 52-tonne mass and will be assembled in space with five modules (at the beginning).
In January, we did one docking experiment. India is the fourth country that has successfully demonstrated this technology until today (needed to build a space station). The second experiment will be the BAS (Bharatiya Antariksh Station) interface. The space station will be in place by 2035.
Will it be in the vicinity of the International Space Station or the Chinese space station? Because it will have to be some 400 km above the Earth, right?
All space-faring nations have an understanding and collaborative effort. In space, it is not in our interest to hit something else. The distance, whether 400 km or 420 km, has not been decided yet. But it (BAS) will be placed in the appropriate location in space. At the end of the day, the global community should be happy.
What about the Venus orbiter mission?
We are working on a Venus orbiter. It is a very interesting planet. We are also working on another Mars mission.
Can you explain the links between India’s space programme and national security?
Along with the defence team, our responsibility is also to ensure the safety and security of every citizen of Bharat. And, towards that, satellites can do a lot of things. They can locate things — good things and bad things. You can observe a lot of things
from space. Another thing is communication, in real time, especially in war-like situations when communications are very essential — assured, secured communication.
As you know, even during Operation Sindoor, we could play our part well.
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 "India today has best camera in moon's orbit: Isro Chairman V Narayanan")
