Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked scientists to aim to send the first Indian to the Moon by 2040 and set up an Indian space station by 2035, according to an official statement.

He gave these directions during a meeting to review the preparedness of the Gaganyaan mission and the first demonstration flight of the crew escape system test vehicle scheduled for October 21.

"The meeting evaluated the mission’s readiness, affirming its launch in 2025," the statement said.

During the meeting, the prime minister outlined the future of India's space exploration endeavours and urged scientists to work towards interplanetary missions, including a Venus Orbiter Mission and a Mars Lander.

"Building on the success of Indian space initiatives, including the recent Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya L1 missions, the prime minister directed that India should now aim for new and ambitious goals, including setting up 'Bharatiya Antariksha Station' (Indian space station) by 2035 and sending first Indian to the Moon by 2040," the statement said.

To realize this vision, the Department of Space will develop a roadmap for Moon exploration, it said.

"This will encompass a series of Chandrayaan missions, the development of a Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), construction of a new launch pad, setting up human-centric Laboratories and associated technologies," the statement said.

The Department of Space presented a comprehensive overview of the Gaganyaan Mission, including various technologies developed so far such as human-rated launch vehicles and system qualification.

It was noted that around 20 major tests, including three uncrewed missions of the Human Rated Launch Vehicle (HLVM3) are planned.

Prime Minister Modi expressed confidence in India's capabilities and affirmed the nation's commitment to scaling new heights in space exploration.

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