Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: In a significant development for India’s space exploration efforts, one of the four crew members selected for ISRO’s Gaganyaan mission will visit the International Space Station (ISS) after August. Union Minister Jitendra Singh announced this in the Lok Sabha, highlighting the collaborative mission between ISRO and NASA.
“ISRO is pursuing a joint mission with NASA to ISS, wherein one ‘Gaganyaatri’ will undertake space travel to ISS,” said Singh. This mission involves a partnership with Axiom Space, a private entity identified by NASA. Recently, ISRO signed a space flight agreement with Axiom Space to facilitate this mission.
Singh, the Minister of State for Science and Technology, made the statement in response to a query from Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy regarding the ‘Axiom-4 Mission,’ astronauts, and the Gaganyaan mission. According to NASA, this will be the fourth private astronaut mission to the ISS, scheduled to launch no earlier than August 2024 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
In February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the four ‘Gaganyaatris,’ all elite fighter pilots from the Indian Air Force (IAF): Group Captains Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Ajit Krishnan, Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander Shubanshu Shukla.
Minister Singh also informed the House that the IAF pilots are undergoing rigorous training at ISRO’s Astronauts Training Facility in Bengaluru. “They have completed two out of three semesters of their training programme. Independent training simulator and static mockup simulators have been realized,” he stated.
The Gaganyaan project, a landmark initiative for India’s human spaceflight program, is expected to launch next year. This three-day mission will mark a significant milestone in India’s journey towards becoming a key player in global space exploration.
