New Delhi

Former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino has lauded India’s growing space ambitions, saying the country is “capable of doing great things” as it moves toward human landings on the Moon by 2040 and future crewed missions to Mars.

In an interview with ANI from the US, Massimino said he has been closely watching India’s recent space milestones and is particularly encouraged by the direction of the Indian space programme.

“I think India is capable of doing great things, which they have done in many areas, and I am very excited that they are building their space program the way they have and been successful,” he said.

Recalling his February visit to India, the astronaut said he experienced first-hand the excitement around Chandrayaan-3 and India’s progress in human spaceflight.

“They just recently sent an astronaut to the space station and I think the Moon landing was very exciting. I was lucky enough to visit India for the first time last February… I got to meet the prime minister and people involved with the space program, and visit a lot of schools. There are a lot of smart people,” he added.

India scripted history on August 23, 2023, when Chandrayaan-3 became the first mission to land near the Moon’s south pole, marking a breakthrough in interplanetary technology development.

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In another milestone for human spaceflight, Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla became the first Indian in over four decades to visit the International Space Station during the Axiom-4 mission in June 2025, serving as the pilot and conducting multiple microgravity experiments—paving the path for future missions such as Gaganyaan.