Gaganyaan to Venus: India Outlines Next Space Exploration Phase
An official fact-sheet outlines India’s next space phase, including Gaganyaan human flights, the Bharatiya Antariksh Station, a Venus orbiter in 2028, and reusable launch technology.
New Delhi: India’s next phase of space exploration will deepen its role in human spaceflight, planetary science and advanced space technology, supporting the country’s ambition to become a leading global space power, according to the government.
An official fact-sheet states that India is entering a new stage of human spaceflight, deep-space exploration and advanced space infrastructure, with upcoming missions aimed at building capabilities for sustained human presence and complex orbital operations.
The Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme was approved in January 2019. Its scope was expanded and revised in September 2024 to a total outlay of Rs 20,193 crore covering eight missions, including precursor flights for the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS-01). The programme aims to launch a crew of three Indian astronauts to a 400-km orbit for a three-day mission. The first uncrewed experimental flight, intended to validate technologies including the half-humanoid Vyommitra, is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. The crewed mission is targeted by 2027.
