Though India has been involved in space exploration, or at least in some form of organized space program, for the last 45 years, its major accomplishments at this point only include numerous satellite launches and a Moon orbiter and probe. But authorities in Delhi are currently setting their eyes on bigger aims, as they announced plans to send a manned mission into space within the next five to six years. According to the earliest flight specifications, the mission would only include two astronauts.

The recent announcement was made in Bangalore by K. Radhakrishnan, who is the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). “We are preparing for the manned space flight. We will design and develop the space module for the manned mission in the next four years,” the official told reporters during a news briefing. This decision doesn't come as a shock for other space agencies, or countries involved in space exploration.

On the contrary, analysts say that India emerging as a major player in the space industry has been a long time coming, and that the nation is barely beginning to materialize its ambitions. Fueled by a fast pace of economic growth, India is at this point one of the most rapidly developing nations in the world, with a living standard of its general population increasing annually. Just last September, for instance, the country launched seven satellites aboard a single space vehicle, just one month after ISRO lost contact with its Chandrayaan mission to the Moon.

Radhakrishnan announced that authorities in Delhi had already agreed to finance the construction of a brand-new training facility in Bangalore, which will be used solely for the purpose of preparing future astronauts for the rigors of living and working in microgravity. According to currently available cost estimates, the entire manned space-mission initiative will cost the Asian nation in excess of 124 billion rupees, or around $2 billion.

In addition to this mid-term plan, India is also targeting an early 2013 launch date for its second unmanned lunar mission, which is called Chandrayaan-II. This flight will include an orbiter, as well as two rovers. One of them is a lander-rover constructed by Russia, while the other, smaller one is designed entirely in India. It is estimated that this flight will cost about $90 million. Chandrayaan-II will launch aboard a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), the BBC News reports.