NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will launch its first manned space mission by 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday, which could make it the fourth nation to do so after the United States, Russia and China.

In his last Independence Day speech before a general election early next year, Modi also said the government would launch a medical insurance scheme for the poor from Sept. 25.

“It is high time we ensure that the poor of India get access to good quality and affordable healthcare,” Modi said in an address from the ramparts of the Mughal-era Red Fort in Delhi in India’s 72nd year of independence. </s> India will launch its first manned space mission by 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday in his last Independence Day speech ahead of the 2019 general election.

Modi, a powerful speaker who will seek re-election in the world’s biggest democracy early 2019, used the speech to broadcast his government’s achievements, amid concerns about lack of jobs and rising violence against the Muslim minority.

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The general elections are due to be held in May 2019.

Wearing a flowing saffron turban, the Hindu nationalist leader also announced the plan to take the “Indian tricolor to space” in a manned mission that would make India the fourth nation to launch one, after the US, Russia and China.

“India is proud of our scientists, who are excelling in their research and are at the forefront of innovation,” Modi said from the ramparts of the Mughal-era Red Fort in Delhi to a crowd numbering in the tens of thousands.

“In the year 2022 or, if possible, before, India will unfurl the tricolor in space.”

Months after Modi’s election in 2014, India became the first Asian nation to reach Mars when its first mission to the red planet entered orbit, at a cost of 74 million dollars, or less than the budget of the Hollywood space blockbuster “Gravity”. </s> NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will launch its first manned space mission by 2022 and roll out a health insurance scheme from September, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday in his last Independence Day speech ahead of next year’s general election.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets schoolchildren after addressing the nation during Independence Day celebrations at the historic Red Fort in Delhi, India, August 15, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Modi, a powerful speaker who will seek re-election in the world’s biggest democracy early next year, used the speech to broadcast his government’s achievements, amid concerns about lack of jobs and rising violence against the Muslim minority.

Wearing a flowing saffron turban, the Hindu nationalist leader also announced the plan to take the “Indian tricolor to space” in a manned mission that would make India the fourth nation to launch one, after the United States, Russia and China.

“India is proud of our scientists, who are excelling in their research and are at the forefront of innovation,” Modi said from the ramparts of the Mughal-era Red Fort in Delhi to a crowd numbering in the tens of thousands.

“In the year 2022 or, if possible, before, India will unfurl the tricolor in space.”

Months after Modi’s election in 2014, India became the first Asian nation to reach Mars when its first mission to the red planet entered orbit, at a cost of $74 million, or less than the budget of the Hollywood space blockbuster “Gravity”.

Modi said his government would launch from Sept. 25 a previously announced medical insurance scheme, dubbed ‘Modicare’, to give about 500 million poor people annual health cover of 500,000 rupees ($7,200) to treat serious illness.

Critics say that while Modi has adopted several initiatives, his tenure has been marred by violence against Muslim cattle traders and economic jolts through a countrywide ban on high-value notes and the botched launch of a unified taxation system.

Businesses have embraced the unified Goods and Services Tax after initial hiccups, Modi said in his speech.

In his 80-minute speech, Modi said the pace of building highways, electrifying villages and building toilets has increased since his landslide 2014 election win that devastated the main opposition Congress party.

Congress, which had ruled India for decades, is now trying to unify the opposition to challenge Modi, whose personal ratings remain high despite recent election setbacks.

“We want to progress more. There is no question of stopping or getting tired on the way,” Modi said.

($1=69.9500 Indian rupees) </s> Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address from the ramparts of Red Fort on Wednesday, said the country will see an Indian on a space mission under an indigenous space project called ‘Gaganyaan‘ before 2022. This was Modi’s last Independence Day speech ahead of general elections and as PM in the current tenure.

Modi said when India celebrates 75th year of Independence in 2022, “and if possible even before, an Indian son or daughter” will undertake a manned space mission on board ‘Gaganyaan‘ “carrying the national flag”.

‘Gaganyaan’ will be the first manned space mission launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). If India does launch the Gaganyaan mission, it will be the fourth nation to do so after the United States, Russia and China.

India had launched its first lunar probe Chandrayaan-1 in October 2008 and operated it until August 2009. The major achievement of Chandrayaan-1 was the discovery of widespread presence of water molecules in lunar soil. The mission, which was supposed to last for two years, was suspended in just 312 days. However, the scientists at ISRO had claimed that the mission had achieved 95 per cent of its goals before they lost touch with it.

ISRO will launch Chandrayaan-2 in the January-March window of 2019. The mission was supposed to be launched this year but it was postponed following design changes in the spacecraft for its safe landing on the lunar surface.

ISRO had launched its Mars probe Mangalyaan or the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)on September 24, 2014. The spacecraft specific search for methane in the Martian atmosphere will provide information about the possibility or the past existence of life on the planet.

For all the latest Technology News, download Indian Express App </s> India will send a manned flight into space by 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Wednesday as part of India’s independence day celebrations. Time </s> Gaganyaan space mission 2022: On the occasion of India’s 72nd Independence Day on August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that by the year 2022, an Indian astronaut, be it a man or a woman, will go on a space odyssey, on board ‘Gaganyaan’. While talking about this major step for the country, PM said that the manned space mission on board ‘Gaganyaan’ can take place when India celebrates the 75th year of Independence in 2022 or, if possible, even earlier. He added that “an Indian son or daughter” will carry the national flag on this trip. It will be one of the major missions undertaken in India after the Chandrayaan-1 (October 2008) and Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan (September 2014).

In a major claim, ISRO chairman K Sivan said that the mission will create 15,000 jobs in India.

Gaganyaan is an Indian space mission set to take place in or before 2022 where a man or a woman will be sent into the space on board the spacecraft known as the ‘Gaganyaan’. Following this mission, India will become the fourth nation in the world after United States, Russia and China to undertake a manned space mission.

K Sivan, the chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation said, “PM Modi has given a target of 2022 and it’s our duty to meet it. We are already on the job and we have completed many technologies like crew module and escape systems. The project has been underway, now we need to prioritise and achieve the target.” Sivan is also a scientist associated with the ambitious mission. He added that they are duty-bound to fulfil PM Modi’s promise and asserted that the space agency has the “capability” achieve the target.

While talking about two biggest challenges, an ISRO scientist cited the need for a big rocket and training of astronauts. Scientist Tushar Jadhav said, “We need to enhance technology to achieve this, deadline looks tough but we certainly have the capability to do it. A big rocket and astronaut training are two main challenges.”

Speaking to PTI on Wednesday, ISRO Chairman K Sivan spoke about the impact of the mission on jobs and said that the plan to send an Indian into space for the first time will create 15,000 jobs. “15,000 jobs would be created under the human space mission,” he said.

Chandrayaan-1 was India’s first lunar probe. It was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation in October 2008 and operated until August 2009. Mangalyaan is another Indian space project. The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan, is a space probe orbiting Mars since September 24, 2014. </s> Modi says India will send manned flight into space by 2022

NEW DELHI (AP) — India will send a manned flight into space by 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Wednesday as part of India's independence day celebrations.

He said India will become the fourth country after Russia, the United States and China to achieve the feat and its astronaut could be a man or a woman. The space capsule that will transport India's astronauts was tested a few days earlier.

Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian to travel in space, aboard a Soviet rocket in 1984. As part of its own space program, active since the 1960s, India has launched scores of satellites for itself and other countries and successfully put one in orbit around Mars in 2014.

It hopes to showcase its technological ability to explore the solar system while also using research from space and elsewhere to solve problems at home. The $1 billion-a-year space program has already helped develop satellite, communication and remote-sensing technologies and has been used to gauge underground water levels and predict weather in the country prone to cycles of drought and flood.

India won independence from British colonialists in 1947. Modi's 80-minute speech, broadcast live from the historic Red Fort in New Delhi, comes months before national elections.

Modi listed his government's achievements in the past four years in reforming the country's economy, reducing poverty and corruption. He announced a health insurance scheme for 500 million poor people providing a cover of 500,000 rupees ($7,150) per family a year.

He said India will become a growth engine for the world economy as the "sleeping elephant" has started to run on the back of structural economic reforms.

He said its economy was seen as fragile before 2014 but was now attracting investment. India is the sixth-largest economy in the world and Modi said international institutions see India as giving strength to the world economy for the next three decades.

He said the structural reforms like a national tax replacing various state and local taxes, bankruptcy and insolvency laws, and a crackdown on corruption have helped transform the economy.

Modi became prime minister when his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party won a resounding victory in the national elections in 2014. He will seek another 5-year term for his party at elections due by March-April next year. </s> This photo released by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) shows its Geosynchronous Satellite launch Vehicle (GSLV) MkIII carrying Chandrayaan-2 lift off from Satish Dhawan Space center in Sriharikota, India, Monday, July 22, 2019. India successfully launched an unmanned spacecraft to the far side of the moon on Monday, a week after aborting the mission due to a technical problem. (Indian Space Research Organization via AP)

NEW DELHI (AP) — India sent a spacecraft to explore water deposits on the far side of the moon in a successful launch Monday after a technical problem caused a week’s delay.

Scientists at the mission control center burst into applause as the rocket lifted off in clear weather as scheduled at 2:43 p.m. from Sriharikota in southern India. K. Sivan, head of India’s space agency, said the rocket successfully injected the spacecraft into orbit.



The Chandrayaan, the Sanskrit word for “moon craft,” is scheduled to land on the lunar south pole in September and send a rover to explore water deposits confirmed by an earlier, orbiting mission. India would become only the fourth nation to land on the moon, following the U.S., Russia, and China.

India’s first moon mission in 2008 helped confirm the presence of water.

The country plans to send its first manned spaceflight by 2022.

India’s launch coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission this month. It came at a time when the world’s biggest space agencies are returning their gaze to the moon, seen as an ideal testing ground for technologies required for deep space exploration, and with the confirmed discovery of water, as a possible pit stop along the way. The U.S. is working to send a manned spacecraft to the moon’s south pole by 2024.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country’s lunar program will get a substantial boost, writing on Twitter that the country’s existing knowledge of the moon “will be significantly enhanced.”

Sivan said at a news conference that the successful launch of the spacecraft was the “beginning of India’s historic journey” to the moon.

The launch of the $141 million moon mission last week was called off less than an hour before liftoff because of a “technical snag.” Media reports scientists from the Indian Space Research Organization identified a leak while filling helium in the rocket’s cryogenic engine. The space agency neither confirmed nor denied the reports, saying instead that the problem had been identified and corrected.

The spacecraft that launched Monday is carrying an orbiter, lander, and rover that will move around on the lunar surface for 14 Earth days. It will travel about 47 days before landing on the moon.

India put a satellite into orbit around Mars in the nation’s first interplanetary mission in 2013 and 2014.

With India poised to become the world’s fifth-largest economy, Modi’s ardently nationalist government is eager to show off the country’s prowess in security and technology.

India successfully test-fired an anti-satellite weapon in March, which Modi said demonstrated the country’s capacity as a space power alongside the United States, Russia, and China. </s> China's lunar exploration programme chief on Monday congratulated India on its successful launch of Chandrayaan-2 and said Beijing was actively pursuing its own moon mission and is not in competition with any other country in planning its space explorations.

India on Monday successfully launched its second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 on board its powerful rocket GSLV-MkIII-M1 from the spaceport in Sriharikota to explore the unchartered south pole of the celestial body by landing a rover.

The geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle lifted-off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre into cloudy skies at 2.43 pm and successfully placed the 3,850-kg Chandrayaan-2 into the earth orbit about 16 minutes later.

Wu Weiren wished India's Chandrayaan-2 a success and said China which is actively pursuing its own moon mission and is not in competition with any other country in planning its space missions.

International efforts to explore the moon - including made by India, Israel and the US - which is determined to send its astronauts back to the moon within five years, will be pressuring and motivating China's lunar probe missions to further develop, Wu was quoted as saying by the state-run Global Times commenting on the successful launch of the Chandrayaan-2 into space.

"The international trend will not play a decisive role in China's planning on its lunar missions, and China is not going to compete with any one over the matter," Wu said.

"China will pace itself against plans that have been already laid out in advance with each step surely achieving set goals," he said.

Wu said China's space projects have always been carried out in an independent and controllable fashion.

China's Chang'e-4 has become the first spacecraft to land on the lunar far side also known as the dark side of the moon in January this year.

The rover Yutu-2 then rolled off the lander to explore its surroundings.

China is planning several space missions including to Mars as well as building its own space station by 2022.

The success of Chandrayaan-2 has brought a huge relief for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists after they postponed the launch on July 15 following a technical glitch in the rocket.

The Rs 978-crore unmanned mission also brought woman power to the fore as it was helmed by two woman scientists of the ISRO - Ritu Karidhal and M Vanitha, the Mission and Project directors respectively.

Joined by President Ram Nath Kovind and leaders across the political spectrum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the scientists and said every Indian is immensely proud today.

In a series of tweets, Modi referred to the indigenous systems used in Chandrayaan-2 and said the mission is "Indian at heart, Indian in spirit!...

According to ISRO, the lunar South Pole is an interesting surface area which remains in shadow than North Pole.

There is a possibility of the presence of water in permanently shadowed areas around it, the agency said, adding craters in the South Pole region have cold traps and contain fossil record of the early solar system.

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India will launch its first manned space mission by 2022, which would make it the fourth nation to do so after Russia, the United States, and China.