‘Country preparing for Gaganyaan, building its own space station’: PM Modi

PARIS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (local time) said that India is preparing for the Gaganyaan mission, human spaceflight to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and moving towards establishing its own space station, highlighting the country’s growing ambitions in space exploration, green energy and advanced nuclear technology.

Addressing the Indian community in Paris, PM Modi said the aspirations and determination of Indians are driving the country’s development journey. “Today, the people of India want to take their lives to the next level, and their goal is to take India to the next level as well. They have determination, they have dreams. And these aspirations are the greatest strength of India’s development journey today,” he said.

Highlighting India’s achievements in the space sector, PM Modi said, “I will give you the example of India’s space journey. India landed Chandrayaan on the Moon’s South Pole. The world recognised this as a huge achievement. But India didn’t stop there. Today, the country is preparing for Gaganyaan. Today, India is moving forward towards building its own space station.”

India landed Chandrayaan on the Moon’s South Pole.

The world recognized this as a huge achievement. But India didn’t stop there.

Today the country is preparing for Gaganyaan.

Today, India is moving forward towards building its own space station.

– Prime Minister Narendra… pic.twitter.com/YBlNjXcN4i

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) June 18, 2026

The Prime Minister said the same spirit of ambition is visible in the energy sector, where India is looking beyond its globally recognised achievements in solar power. “This same aspiration is visible in the field of green energy. India’s achievements in solar power are constantly discussed worldwide. But India is preparing for the next leap. Major investments are being made in green hydrogen. Work on advanced nuclear energy is progressing rapidly,” he said.

Referring to progress in India’s nuclear programme, PM Modi added, “You’ve also likely heard about the progress made with India’s fast breeder nuclear reactor. This is a major achievement by our scientists, revolutionising India’s nuclear energy landscape.”

As per ISRO, Gaganyaan is India’s first indigenous human spaceflight programme. The historic mission aims to demonstrate India’s capability to safely send a three-member crew to a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at an altitude of 300-400 km for up to seven days, followed by a safe splashdown recovery in Indian waters.

Prime Minister also said that the India-France partnership has emerged as a pillar of trust, stability and cooperation at a time when the world is facing uncertainty and disruption, while announcing that India and France will jointly launch the TRISHNA satellite next year to contribute to global food and water security.

Announcing a major upcoming space collaboration, PM Modi added, “Now, together, we are going to launch the Trishna satellite next year. This Trishna satellite will contribute to ensuring food and water security in the world.”

The TRISHNA (Thermal InfraRed Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural resource Assessment) mission is a joint Earth observation satellite project between India and France designed to monitor land and water resources through advanced thermal infrared imaging. It is a mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the French space agency CNES.

The satellite is expected to provide crucial data on agriculture, water management, climate monitoring and environmental sustainability, supporting efforts to strengthen food and water security worldwide. (ANI)