NEW DELHI: The centre said that the country aims to send an astronaut to the moon by 2040. The government made this clear in the high-level meet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the progress of the Gaganyaan mission to send humans into space.

India's space ambitions got a boost when it became the first country to land a spacecraft near the unexplored south pole of the moon in August, just days after a similar Russian mission failed, and the fourth overall to achieve a soft landing.

In a statement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed that India should aim to build the 'Bharatiya Antariksha Station' (Indian Space Station) by 2035 and to land the first Indian on the moon by 2040.

To make this possible, the space department will develop a roadmap for moon exploration, the statement said.

Modi directed scientists to work on missions to Venus and Mars.