India on Tuesday announced names of the four astronaut- designates for the human spaceflight mission Gaganyaan. It is planned for launch in 2025. The designated are Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla. The shortlisted candidates would now be undergoing a rigorous selection process to be included in the three-member crew. These include the Integrated Air Drop tests, Test Vehicle Missions, pad Abort Tests. They have already been undergoing training in various aspects of space flight, initially in Russia, and then at the Astronaut Training Facility established by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Bengaluru.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented the four designates with ‘astronaut wings’ during the event.
The Gaganyaan mission, according to ISRO, envisages “demonstration of human spaceflight capability”. The three-member crew would be scaling an orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission and returning to earth safely, by landing in Indian sea waters. According to ISRO, the Gaganyaan programme is designed to demonstrate indigenous capability to undertake human space flight mission to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The mission is expected to pave the way for a “sustained Indian human space exploration programme” in the long run.
Other than this, ISRO has also announced plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2040.
ISRO Chairman S. Somnath also introduced Prime Minister Modi to ‘Vyommitra’, the humanoid robot developed by the space agency for the programme. Mr Modi was also introduced to other equipment related to the Gaganyaan mission. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan were present on the occasion.
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