Cabinet OKs new moon mission Chandrayaan-4

New Delhi: In a boost to the space programme, the government on Wednesday approved the Chandrayaan-4 mission to bring back moon rocks to earth, to send a spacecraft to orbit planet Venus and to expand the Gaganyaan project to build an Indian space station. The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also approved a proposal of the Department of Space to build a Next Generation Launch Vehicle capable of placing heavier payload in orbits, which could also be key to achieving the targets of setting up a space station and landing an Indian astronaut on the moon.

"Great news for the space sector! The Union Cabinet has approved the first step towards the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), expanding the Gaganyaan programme," Modi said in a post on X. "This landmark decision brings us closer to a self-sustained space station by 2035 and a crewed lunar mission by 2040," the prime minister said.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the government has allocated Rs 2,104 crore for the Chandrayaan-4 mission. "A natural successor to Chandrayaan-3 is the demonstration of the ability to collect lunar samples and return them safely back to Earth," ISRO Chairman S Somanath said. The Chandrayaan-4 will involve multiple launches, and the premier space agency is set to perform a space docking experiment later this year to develop its capabilities for the challenging endeavour.