India's space programme has achieved remarkable milestones, from Chandrayaan-3's landing near the Moon's south pole in 2023 to Aditya-L1's study of the Sun. But ISRO's most ambitious plans lie ahead. The government has set out a long-term roadmap that includes an Indian space station by 2035 and an Indian astronaut on the Moon by 2040. Here is what that roadmap includes and how the pieces fit together.
The big goals
The roadmap has two headline targets.
- A national space station, called the Bharatiya Antariksh Station, fully operational by 2035.
- An Indian astronaut landing on the Moon by 2040.
Getting there requires a sequence of missions, each building the technology and experience needed for the next.
Step one: Gaganyaan
Everything starts with Gaganyaan, India's human spaceflight programme. Its goal is to send up to three Indian astronauts to an orbit of about 400 kilometres for up to three days and bring them home safely.
ISRO plans three uncrewed test missions first. The first, G1, is being prepared for late 2026, carrying the humanoid robot Vyommitra. If the uncrewed missions succeed, ISRO aims to launch astronauts in 2027.
Gaganyaan will prove India can launch humans safely, keep them alive in space and return them, all essential capabilities for a space station and future Moon missions.
Step two: Bharatiya Antariksh Station
The Bharatiya Antariksh Station, often shortened to BAS, will be India's own space station in low Earth orbit. Plans call for it to be built in stages, with five modules in total.
The first module, called BAS-1, is targeted for launch around 2028. ISRO unveiled a model of BAS-1 on National Space Day in August 2025. Additional modules would follow, with the full station operational by 2035.
A space station allows astronauts to live and work in space for long periods. This enables research in microgravity, such as studying how materials, biology and the human body behave without gravity. It also builds experience in long-duration spaceflight, which is essential for deep space missions.
Once complete, India would join the United States, Russia and China as countries operating their own space stations, alongside international partners in the International Space Station.
Step three: Chandrayaan-4
While human spaceflight develops, ISRO continues robotic Moon exploration. In September 2024, the Union Cabinet approved Chandrayaan-4, a mission designed to land on the Moon, collect samples and bring them back to Earth.
Sample return is far more complex than landing. The mission must land, collect material, launch from the lunar surface, meet another spacecraft in orbit around the Moon, and return to Earth safely. Mastering these steps, especially docking in lunar orbit and returning from the Moon, builds capabilities needed for future crewed missions.
ISRO demonstrated space docking in Earth orbit with the SpaDeX mission, which successfully docked two satellites in January 2025, making India one of only a few countries to achieve this.
Step four: new rockets
Human missions to the Moon require far more powerful rockets than ISRO currently flies. The government has approved development of the Next Generation Launch Vehicle, a larger rocket intended to carry heavier payloads and support missions such as the space station and lunar exploration. ISRO is also working on reusable rocket technology to reduce launch costs.
Other missions on the roadmap
The roadmap includes several other missions:
- The Venus Orbiter Mission, approved in 2024, to study Venus's atmosphere and surface.
- Continued Earth observation, including NISAR, the joint NASA-ISRO radar satellite launched in July 2025.
- Expanded navigation through NavIC, India's regional satellite navigation system.
- Growth in private space companies, encouraged by reforms that opened the sector to startups.
The role of private companies
India's space reforms since 2020 have allowed private companies to build rockets and satellites. IN-SPACe, the space regulator, authorises and supports private players. Startups such as Skyroot Aerospace and Agnikul Cosmos have developed their own launch vehicles, and many companies build satellites and space technology.
A strong private space industry can support ISRO's ambitions by supplying components, launches and services, while ISRO focuses on complex scientific and human missions.
Challenges ahead
The roadmap is ambitious, and challenges are real.
- Human spaceflight timelines have shifted before, and safety must come first.
- Building and operating a space station requires sustained funding over many years.
- Landing humans on the Moon requires technologies India has not yet demonstrated, including heavy-lift rockets and lunar landers capable of carrying crew.
- Developing skilled people and industrial capacity takes time.
Why it matters
For India, the space roadmap is about more than prestige. Space technology supports weather forecasting, disaster management, communication, navigation, agriculture and national security. Ambitious missions drive innovation, create high-skilled jobs and inspire young people to pursue science and engineering.
The bottom line
India's space roadmap runs from Gaganyaan's first uncrewed test in 2026, through a crewed flight targeted for 2027, the first space station module around 2028 and a full Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035, to an Indian astronaut on the Moon by 2040. Chandrayaan-4, new heavy rockets and a growing private space industry support these goals. The timeline is ambitious, and dates may shift, but the direction is clear: India aims to become a major human spaceflight nation.
