India needs to build pool of 40-50 astronauts for future missions: PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India needs to build a pool of 40-50 astronauts ready to lead future space missions as he interacted with Shubhanshu Shukla, who is back after spending 20 days in space.

Shukla, who became the first Indian to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Axiom-4 commercial mission, told the prime minister that there was tremendous interest across the world about India's Gaganyaan mission Shukla met Modi on Monday evening and shared his experiences of the time spent at the ISS, adjusting to micro-gravity conditions, and the experiments he carried out on the orbital lab. The video of the interaction was released on Tuesday.

"There is a need to have a pool of 40-50 astronauts ready for India's future missions," Modi said, adding that Shukla's space travel was the first step towards future missions.

Modi said until now, very few children may have considered becoming astronauts, but Shukla's journey will instill greater belief and generate interest in the sector.

The prime minister said India now has two major missions ahead – Bhartiya Antariskh Station and Gaganyaan, and Shukla's experience would be of great value in these endeavours Shukla said the two missions presented a major opportunity for the country and the sustained commitment of the government to the space sector, despite setbacks such as the Chandrayaan-II mission was laudable.

He said the government's continued support to the space program with consistent budgeting led to the success of Chandrayaan-3.

Shukla said such support, even after failures, is being seen globally as a reflection of India's capability and positioning in the space domain.

"India can acquire a leadership role and that a space station led by Bharat, with participation from other nations, would be a powerful tool," Shukla said.

Shukla told the prime minister that India's Gaganyaan project was generating great interest around the world.

"My crew mates even requested signed notes, expressing their desire to be invited to the launch and to travel aboard India's spacecraft," Shukla said.

India plans to undertake its first human spaceflight in 2027 and build its own space station by 2035. India also has plans to land its own astronaut on the moon by 2040.