India's space station to provide unparalleled research platform on Earth: Government

The Indian space station, once fully installed, will offer an unparalleled research platform on the planet, said the government, saying the expected benefits are likely in the areas of human health, disaster relief and of food and water conservation.

In a written response to a question posed by Lok Sabha, Secretary-General of the Prime Minister's Office, Jitendra Singh, said that a space station was an integral part of the human spaceflight program because it allowed for a sustainable human presence in the space to conduct useful research.

He stated, however, that the program was still in its infancy. "India's plan for a space station is a long-term plan after the successful commissioning of Gaganyaan," he said.

India plans to launch Gaganyaan, its human space mission, by 2022. Last month, President of the Indian Space Research Organization K Sivan announced at a press conference that India was planning to create its own space station. The design of the Indian space station will be modular, with initial modules weighing nearly 20 tons. An extended stay will be scheduled for three crew members.

Singh said the Indian space station would provide an unmatched research platform on Earth. Expected benefits are likely in the areas of human health, telemedicine, vaccine development, material development, disaster relief, effective farming techniques, food preservation and food consumption. 39; water. , waste management techniques, environmental research and education programs that inspire young people, "he said.

The current space platform is the International Space Station in orbit at an altitude of 400 km. It is operated by five space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), CSA (Canada), JAXA (Japan) and ESA (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom).

In a separate issue, Singh said the sanctioned cost of Chandrayaan-2 and Aditya-L1 was Rs 603 crore and Rs 378.53, respectively.