On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi instructed the Department of Space to work with the goal of sending the first Indian to the Moon by 2040.
Modi also commanded the officials that India should also now aim to work on setting up the 'Bharatiya Antariksha Station' (Indian Space Station) by 2035.
The Prime Minister led a meeting on Tuesday to evaluate the advancement of India's Gaganyaan project and forthcoming space exploration program, according to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office.
The Department of Space shared an overview of the Gaganyaan Mission, including various technologies, including human-rated launch vehicles.
"It was noted that around 20 major tests, including 3 uncrewed missions of the Human Rated Launch Vehicle (HLVM3) are planned. First demonstration flight of the Crew Escape System Test Vehicle is scheduled on 21 October. The meeting evaluated the mission's readiness, affirming its launch in 2025," the release stated.
The space ministry will now develop a roadmap for Moon exploration, including a series of Chandrayaan missions, "the development of a Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), construction of a new launch pad, setting up human-centric Laboratories and associated technologies."
Earlier this month, the chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Sreedhara Panicker Somanath, said that ''India is exploring the possibility of constructing a space station.''
"The Gaganyaan programme is focused on making that happen, and once it does, we can think about building a Space Station in the next 20 to 25 years, step by step," Somanath said in an interview with CGTN.