The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have partnered with a US-based NASA-identified company, Axiom Space Inc., to send one Indian astronaut, ‘Gaganyaatri,’ to the International Space Station (ISS), said Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
Dr Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, said, “ISRO is pursuing an ISRO-NASA joint mission to the International Space Station (ISS), wherein one Gaganyaatri from ISRO will undertake space travel to the ISS.”
NASA has selected Shubhanshu Shukla for this mission, and currently, he is undergoing astronaut training with the three other international astronauts who will join him abroad at the Space Station on this mission.
The Astronaut Selection Board of ISRO had shortlisted two names for the mission: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla (prime astronaut) and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair (backup astronaut).
The astronauts had undergone supervision by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP) as a part of the selection procedure for this mission.
Shubhanshu Shukla will join three other international astronauts on their journey to the Space Station, where they will carry out various scientific research operations and participate in space outreach activities.
This mission will help strengthen the Indian Human Space Programme and improve human space flight cooperation between NASA and ISRO.
The mission is known as AXIOM 4. For this mission, the Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) of ISRO has signed a Space Flight Agreement (SFA) with NASA-identified service provider Axiom Space Inc.
