The Indian Prime Minister wants to send astronauts to the moon by 2040

At the end of August, India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander landed safely on the moon’s surface. This was a double first: it was the first time a country had been able to land in the still largely unknown Antarctica. In addition, this was India’s first successful landing on the moon. An Indian probe has also been on its way to explore the Sun since early September. According to ISRO, it will take the probe about four months to reach the orbit of the sun.

The Indian space program began in the 1960s. In the first decades, the focus was mainly on sending satellites into space in the best possible way. India now has more ambitious goals and wants to gain a prominent position in space exploration. Years ago, India also sent a probe into orbit around Mars.

Closer to home, and also at a shorter distance in the future, the first rocket from the Dutch company T-Minus is supposed to leave the German part of the North Sea into space in April 2024. The intention is to use the launch pad, a special ship, for the so-called Small launchers. They are small rockets used, for example, to launch satellites into space.

The ship in which Bremerhaven is located must play the role of the German spaceport. The missiles are launched from Germany’s exclusive economic zone in the North Sea, more specifically from the so-called “Entenschnabel” or “Duckbill”, 350 kilometers off the coast.

Indian Prime Minister Modi also believes that India should have its own space station by 2035. (Belga)