On Thursday, ISRO chief V Narayanan revealed that they will launch Gaganyaan-G1, India’s first uncrewed spacecraft mission, in December this year.
Speaking at a joint press conference alongside Union Minister Jitendra Singh and Indian astronauts Group Captains Shubhanshu Shukla and Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Narayanan provided updates on recent achievements in the ambitious programme.
Narayanan said that the team has made significant progress over the last four months and will lift off the first uncrewed mission, G1, by the end of the year, possibly in December.
The mission will include Vyommitra, a half-humanoid robot designed to simulate human functions during spaceflight.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who recently returned from the successful Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), highlighted the importance of his experience for India’s upcoming Gaganyaan mission.
“All the knowledge I have gained over the past year will be invaluable for our own missions, including Gaganyaan and the Bharatiya Antariksh Station,” Shukla explained. “Very soon, we shall send someone from our own capsule, rocket, and soil.”
Shukla expressed his gratitude to the Indian government, ISRO, and all contributors to the mission, describing it as a ‘mission for the entire nation’.
He evoked the words of Indian astronaut Rakesh Sharma, who famously said India ‘looks saare jahaan se achcha’ (better than the entire world) after his 1984 space mission.
Team Spirit and National Pride
Fellow astronaut Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair also shared his thoughts, drawing a parallel between himself and the epic figures Lakshman and Ram from Indian mythology.
“If I can call myself Lakshman, even though I am older than ‘Shuks’ (Shukla), I would love to be Lakshman to this Ram any day,” he said, referring to Shukla.
Nair acknowledged the vital role of the entire ISRO team, comparing them to the ‘vanar sena’ (monkey army) that helped Ram in the epic Ramayana.
“Without our fantastic ISRO team, none of this would be possible,” he added.
The Gaganyaan programme represents India’s first crewed space mission to send astronauts into low Earth orbit.
The project involves training astronauts, developing life-support systems, and testing spacecraft capable of carrying humans safely to space and back.
A successful Gaganyaan mission will mark a historic milestone in India’s space exploration, placing the country among a select group of nations capable of conducting crewed spaceflights.
It will further strengthen India’s position in the global space community and pave the way for future space endeavours.
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