India Competes with the US and China to Land Astronauts on the Moon by 2040

The moon portrait from Chandrayaan-3 immortalized by ISRO (photo: dock. ISRO)

JAKARTA - India continues to take various steps to achieve their goal, namely becoming the second country to send astronauts to the moon. This plan is targeted to occur in 2040.

The country strongly supports the efforts of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in realizing this dream. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to build their country's first space station.

Quoting from Dailymail, India's Prime Minister has vowed to establish the Bharatiya Space Station in 2035 and send India's first astronaut in 2040.

So that these two things are realized, the ISRO Space Department will develop a roadmap for exploring the moon. This map will include the development of next-generation launch vehicles, the construction of new launch pads, and new Chandrayaan missions.

To start sending astronauts to the moon, ISRO will carry out the Gaganyaan mission, namely sending three astronauts to Earth orbit for three days. The plan is that this mission will be carried out in 2024 or 2025.

So far, ISRO has become the fourth country to land their spacecraft on the moon, following the Soviet Union, United States, and China.

Interestingly, ISRO spent less money compared to Russia's lander mission to the South Pole, although in the end, Russia failed because its lander was destroyed when it hit the moon.

ISRO spent around 74 million US dollars (IDR 1.1 trillion), while Russia spent up to 200 million US dollars, or the equivalent of IDR 3 trillion. When asked how to reduce costs, India never wants to reveal.

If ISRO is truly serious about their mission to the moon, they will have to face stiff competition from the United States and China. These two countries also plan to send astronauts to the moon.

The United States Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will send astronauts to the moon again in 2025 via the Artemis III mission. This mission will be a comeback from the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.

Meanwhile, China plans to send their astronauts, called taikonauts, to the surface of the Moon in 2030. This target is ten years faster than India's target.

With intense competition between these three countries, India may be the country with the least funds in the mission to land humans on the Moon. This can be seen by comparing the funds spent by India and Russia.