ISRO has outlined a four-decade roadmap to establish human presence beyond Earth, including a lunar crew station by 2047, Moon mining, 3D-printed Martian habitats, and upgraded rockets capable of carrying 150-tonne payloads, paving the way for Mars landings
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hailed the Gaganyaan mission as a milestone in Atmanirbhar Bharat, felicitating astronauts Shubhanshu Shukla, Prasanth Nair, Ajit Krishnan, and Angad Pratap. He said India is prepared for human spaceflight, describing the astronauts as “gems” of national aspirations
Since the advent of space exploration, humans have launched more than 6,700 satellites and spacecraft from countries around the globe, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"The system could support lunar surface communications at greater distances, increased speeds and provide more reliability than current standards," NASA noted in its contract award announcement.
Besides the US, other founding member nations that have signed the Artemis Accords are Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, NASA said on Tuesday.