In a significant update on India’s ambitious Gaganyaan mission, Union Minister Jitendra Singh announced that one of the selected crew members for the Gaganyaan spaceflight will visit the International Space Station (ISS) after August. This upcoming mission will be a collaborative effort between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and NASA.
Addressing the Lok Sabha on Friday, Singh revealed that this space station visit is part of a joint mission between ISRO and NASA, with the inclusion of Axiom Space, a private spaceflight company identified by NASA. “ISRO is pursuing a joint mission with NASA to the ISS, wherein one ‘Gaganyaatri’ will undertake space travel to the ISS,” Singh stated. He elaborated that the mission, known as ‘Axiom-4,’ is scheduled to launch no earlier than August 2024 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The announcement came in response to a query by Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy regarding the details of the Axiom-4 mission and the Gaganyaan project. Singh’s comments also highlighted that the four Indian astronauts, referred to as ‘Gaganyaatris,’ are currently undergoing rigorous training at ISRO’s Astronauts Training Facility in Bengaluru.
In February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced the four elite fighter pilots selected for the Gaganyaan mission: Group Captains Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Ajit Krishnan, Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander Shubanshu Shukla.
Sources By Agencies
