The construction of a lunar space station appears to be the third and final phase of India’s lunar exploration campaign.
According to Space, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to build a space station orbiting the Moon by 2040. This is part of an ambitious roadmap aimed at establishing a long-term presence for the populous nation beyond Earth’s orbit.
Rendering of the Bharatiya Antariksh space station built by India (Photo: ISRO).
According to local media, this station will be named Bharatiya Antariksh, abbreviated as BAS. The development of the first module of the station, BAS 1, was officially “greenlit” by the Indian government in September.
Officials stated that the first module is set to launch into low Earth orbit in 2028, with the entire station expected to be operational by 2035.
Local media reports indicate that this “outpost” will support crewed missions to the surface of the Moon and serve as a center for scientific research.
If all goes according to plan, India’s lunar space station will be completed at the same time as the country’s astronauts land on the Moon, with the aim of establishing a permanent base on the lunar surface before 2050.
India, China, and the USA all plan to build bases on the Moon (Illustrative image: NASA).
According to India Today, the construction of the lunar space station seems to be the third and final phase of India’s lunar exploration campaign.
The first phase involves conducting robotic landing missions on the Moon using indigenously developed technology, exemplified by the Chandrayaan 4 mission.
Scheduled for deployment in 2028, this mission aims to collect approximately 3 kg of rock and soil samples from a region near the Moon’s south pole and return them to Earth.
The second phase focuses on landing crewed missions on the Moon by 2040, followed by the establishment of a lunar orbital station.
In addition to accommodating astronauts, this station will serve as a scientific research center and a base for future space missions.
India’s ambition to conquer the Moon and pursue further goals is strongly inspired by the historic Chandrayaan 3 mission, conducted in August 2023.
During this mission, India became the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the Moon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that India will aim for new and ambitious goals, including a crewed lunar mission in 2035, followed by a crewed landing mission five years later.
