ISRO Plans a Busy 2025 with Multiple Space Missions

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing for a packed 2025, with space minister Jitendra Singh announcing that six major missions are scheduled for the first half of the year. These include sending a female robot, Vyommitra, to space as part of the unmanned Gaganyaan mission and launching the NISAR satellite, the world’s most expensive Indo-US co-produced earth imaging satellite.

The year will begin with the launch of an advanced navigation satellite, NVS-02, in January, which will be ISRO’s 100th mission. This will be followed by the Vyommitra mission, which will test the Gaganyaan spacecraft’s capabilities before sending astronauts into space.

Jitendra Singh emphasized the importance of the Vyommitra mission, saying, “Once everything goes right in the Vyommitra mission, astronauts will be sent to space.”

Other key missions planned for 2025 include:

• NISAR Satellite Launch: Set for March, this joint mission with the US will provide high-resolution images of the earth’s land and ice, scanning nearly all of them every 12 days.
• LVM3-M5 Mission: Scheduled for the first quarter, this mission will launch a satellite for an international customer, showcasing India’s growing space economy.
• Gaganyaan Manned Mission: Though the exact date isn’t confirmed, the success of Vyommitra will lead to India’s first manned spaceflight.

ISRO has also made over $400 million in revenue from commercial satellite launches for the US and the EU over the past decade, and this number is expected to rise in the future.

With multiple rocket launches planned in 2025, including four GSLV rockets, three PSLV launches, and one SSLV launch, ISRO Chairman S Somanath called the year “very exciting.”