India is taking a giant leap forward in its space ambitions. The Union Cabinet has approved a staggering ₹22,750 crore ($2.7 billion) in funding for projects led by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This represents the largest single investment ever made in India’s space program and is poised to dramatically accelerate the nation’s exploration of the cosmos.
The funding breakdown is impressive: ₹11,170 crore ($1.3 billion) for the Gaganyaan mission, ₹8,240 crore ($985 million) for the Next-Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), ₹2,104 crore ($251 million) for Chandrayaan-4, and ₹1,236 crore ($150 million) for the Venus Orbiter Mission. This commitment to space exploration comes just months after India achieved a historic milestone with the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon.
Chandrayaan-4, the first project to launch, will build on this success by attempting to collect lunar rock and soil samples and return them safely to Earth. The mission is expected to be completed within 36 months. All of these missions will feature significant participation from the private space sector, marking a turning point for India’s fledgling private space companies.
The NGLV, receiving the second-largest funding allocation, will play a crucial role in India’s future space endeavors. It is expected to triple the country’s current payload capacity to space, reaching a remarkable 30 tonnes. The NGLV is designed for an eight-year development period and is expected to carry the Gaganyaan manned mission into orbit in 2040. The government has emphasized that the NGLV’s production will involve “maximum participation from the Indian industry.”
Anil Kumar Bhatt, director-general of the Indian Space Association (ISpA), highlighted the significance of this private sector involvement, stating that the new projects will “help the private sector work on world-class space missions, with ISRO anchoring them”. Chaitanya Giri, space fellow at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), further emphasized the potential for private sector contributions, stating that the NGLV “may be invested in the entire material procurement, supply chain management, rocket engineering, testing facilities, manufacturing units, assembly and integration, and launch operations.”
This infusion of funding will also support the Gaganyaan mission, which aims to launch India’s own space station between 2028 and 2035. ISRO is targeting 2040 as the launch date for the Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS), which, if realized, would become one of only two state-owned space stations in orbit. This underscores India’s growing geopolitical ambitions in space.
The Venus Orbiter Mission is another exciting addition to India’s scientific exploration program, focusing on studying the planet Venus.
The scientific community is particularly enthusiastic about Chandrayaan-4’s lunar soil collection and return mission. Anil Prabhakar, director of the Department of Space (DoS)-affiliated Physical Research Laboratory, described the engineering challenges involved in launching a sample return mission from the lunar surface, noting the need to escape lunar gravity and return to Earth. He also highlighted the importance of sterilizing the soil collection compartment to ensure that no earthly contaminants are introduced to the lunar samples.
The success of India’s space program is not just about technological advancements, but also about the potential for private sector growth and a new era of collaboration in space exploration. This substantial funding package promises to propel India to new heights in its quest to unravel the mysteries of the cosmos.
