New Delhi: With India’s first human spaceflight, Gaganyaan, in its final leg of preparations, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is now working to create an astronaut pool to sustain its human space programme.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the second edition of the National Space Day Saturday, which marks India’s successful landing near the lunar south pole, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Axiom-4 Mission, which recently carried Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS), was only the beginning of India’s space odyssey.
“When he (Shukla) showed me the Indian flag that he unfurled in the ISS, I cannot describe the emotions I felt,” PM Modi said, adding that India is now working towards creating a pool of professionals who will be a part of its astronaut programme.
Indian Air Force group captain Shukla, or ‘Shux’ which is his call sign, reached the ISS on 26 June as part of the US-led Axiom-4 Mission. Shukla, along with his backup crew for Axiom-4 Mission, group captain Prasanth B Nair, who was also his colleague for the Gaganyaan Mission, returned to India on August 17.
Group captain Ajit Krishnan and group captain Angad Pratap have also been training for India’s human spaceflight, which is now scheduled to take off in the first half of 2027.
The Astronaut Pool
Following the PM’s announcement, a senior ISRO official told ThePrint that the space agency will begin the process of training professionals from various walks of life to become astronauts.
The official said that this time, the selection pool will not be limited to the armed forces. And it will also not be limited by gender.
“Since we are expanding our astronaut programme, it will no longer be limited just to the IAF. We will find professionals from all fields and in this pool we will also train women,” the official confirmed.
(Edited by Vidhi Bhutra)
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