Isro: India aims to put an astronaut on the Moon by 2040 - what other missions do they have lined up?

India is aiming to become the second country to put an astronaut on the Moon by 2040, the government has said.

The country's space goals also include plans for a space station within 12 years, 2035, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced these ambitions on Tuesday, as well as asking scientists to work on missions to Venus and Mars.

This comes as a Chinese space agency has announced it aims to put humans on the lunar surface by 2030.

"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 Indian government said in a statement.

In August, India made history by becoming the first country to land a spacecraft on the Moon's south pole, where it carried out its mission successfully. However, the space agency has been unable to wake the rover and lander. In September, India launched a rocket on a four-month journey to study the Sun.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is also working on the Gaganyaan project, which aims to send a human crew to an orbit of 400km (248 miles) and bring them back safely to land in Indian waters. On Saturday (21 October), the space agency will conduct a key test in the mission which will be followed by another test flight carrying a robot to outer space before the final manned mission takes place before the end of 2024.

Indian Space Association director general Lt. Gen. AK Bhatt said: "We believe today's announcement of timelines by the Prime Minister will steadfast India's commitment to bring about our new lease of possibilities for our country in space and drive innovation in this new journey. This will also pave the way for our private space players to contribute to the growing developments in the space sector of our country."