India: An Indian astronaut will be launched into space by 2014, we will reach the moon by 2020, four years before China

The space race is gaining momentum, but Israel is being pushed out of the picture * The Israel Space Association: "Precisely when the space race is developing rapidly in the world, Israel is slowing down"

At a meeting of scientists held this week in Bangalore, India, the ambitious Indian space program was approved, to develop manned Indian spacecraft that will take an Indian astronaut into space by 2014. In the more distant future, India aims to send an astronaut to the moon by 2020, 4 years before the expedition planned by China to the moon. The Indian plan, which was revealed only this week, was formulated over 4 years of in-depth planning. With the implementation of the plan, India, which is considered a country with relatively developed space capabilities, will become the fourth country in the world to possess the ability to independently launch humans into space, after Russia, the USA and China, which did so 4 years ago.

The 80 scientists who gathered at the offices of the Indian Space Agency, among India's top scientists, approved the plan unanimously, and decided to place the headquarters of the new space program at the "Satish Dhawan" space base. The scientists announced that "the time has come for India's manned space program". The scientists even announced that they consider it important that Pakistan, Malaysia and South Korea are also planning to send humans into space, although it is actually about purchasing space on a Russian spacecraft for astronauts from these countries.

"In a few years, other countries will establish bases on the moon, and will know its resources," spokespeople in India said, "India will not be left out of the race." It is believed that the Indians are taking these steps, including the massive investments needed to realize the plans, mainly against the background of the ambitious Chinese space program, which has already sent astronauts into space twice, using Chinese spacecraft. China has already published plans for the establishment of a Chinese space station, a landing on the moon, and the establishment of a "moon base", which will utilize the many resources available on the moon in the future.

"The whole world today understands the importance of space exploration and the great potential, also economic, that exists in space" says Lt. Col. (res.) astronaut Yitzhak Mayo, president of the Israel Space Association, who trained at NASA as a replacement for the late Ilan Ramon. "The space race is renewed, and if Israel wants to add and stand at the forefront of science and technology, we must deepen investments in research and development in the field."

"Investments in the field of civil space in Israel are tiny, and the Israeli Space Agency's budget is only a few million shekels, an extremely tiny budget compared to what is happening in the world in general and in the Middle East in particular," says Tal Inbar, chairman of the Israel Space Association and a senior researcher at the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Research. "Even countries like Nigeria, Morocco, Argentina and Egypt have space programs and scientific satellites in development today. The new Minister of Science who will take office will have to take this matter to his attention, and work to significantly increase the budget of the Israeli Space Agency, which almost cannot operate in the absence of a budget."