Docking technology has been identified by the Indian Space Research Organisation as a critical capability for future lunar exploration and human space missions, CNBCTV18 reported.

M R Raghavendra, Director of ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network in Bangalore, explained that docking would be essential for bringing lunar samples back to Earth and for assembling India’s proposed Bharatiya Antariksh Station.

He was speaking at a National Space Day celebration organised by ISTRAC in collaboration with City Montessori School in Lucknow.

The school is the alma mater of astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to visit the International Space Station. Raghavendra described ISRO’s successful docking experiment as a very interesting achievement, noting that it would be extremely useful in future missions.

He said that now India has landed on the Moon, the next step is to bring samples back. For this, an orbiter would circle the Moon, while a lander would collect samples, dock with the orbiter, and then return the material to Earth. He emphasised that ISRO has now gained valuable experience in docking.

He added that docking would also be indispensable for the Bharatiya Antariksh Station, which will be built with a five‑module approach. Each of these modules will require docking, making it a fundamental technology for human missions and primary missions alike.

He also spoke about upcoming projects such as the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission and the space station program.

Raghavendra reflected on ISRO’s journey, noting that the organisation began by addressing basic societal needs but has now emerged as a leader in advanced and cutting‑edge space technologies.

He highlighted that the space sector is now open to private participation, offering numerous opportunities to people from diverse professional and academic backgrounds. He urged students to think the impossible and to go beyond traditional boundaries of space exploration, contributing to India’s scientific and technological vision for 2047.

He stressed the importance of planning and execution in the success of Chandrayaan‑3, under which India achieved a soft landing on the Moon. He reminded the audience that India became the fourth country to land on the Moon, and that the achievement was not just an event but a demonstration of technological and organisational effort.

Speaking to reporters separately, he described National Space Day as an important occasion for India and its scientific community, marking the day when India achieved a technologically challenging mission by landing its ISRO lander on the southern side of the Moon on 23 August 2023. He said this was not only a demonstration of technological prowess but also a huge inspiration to young minds.

Chandrayaan‑3 achieved a historic milestone when its Vikram lander made a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, making India the fourth country to successfully land on the Moon and the first to reach its southern polar region.

The Pragyan rover was subsequently deployed, and the landing site was named Shiv Shakti Point. August 23 was declared National Space Day. India will celebrate its third National Space Day on 23 August this year with the theme ‘Towards Viksit Bharat: Innovating, Collaborating, and Aspiring to Global Space Leadership’.

As part of the 2026 celebrations, ISTRAC organised the one‑day program in collaboration with CMS at its Gomtinagar‑1 campus in Lucknow.

Geeta Gandhi Kingdon, Manager and Managing Director of CMS, said the dedicated efforts of ISRO scientists and the contributions of the younger generation had placed India among the leading nations in space research. Referring to the achievement of CMS alumnus Shubhanshu Shukla, she said his success as an Indian citizen who travelled to space had made the entire nation proud.

Agencies