The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has partnered with a US-based private aerospace company, Axiom Space, 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.”
The astronaut will be chosen from the four astronauts of the Gaganyaan Mission (India’s first human spaceflight mission to take place by 2025) who are undergoing training at the astronaut training facility in Bangalore.
Read: Indian Astronauts Shubhanshu Shukla and Prashanth Nair selected for NASA-ISRO mission to the ISS
The astronaut will be selected by the Astronaut Selection Board of ISRO, which previously selected the Gaganyaan astronauts from a group of Indian Air Force (IAF) Test Pilots.
The mission, known as Axiom Mission 4 (AX-4), is scheduled to launch no earlier than August 2024. This mission will launch from NASA’s Kenedy Space Center in Florida. The Indian Astronaut Gaganyaatri will join three other international astronauts on their journey to the Space Station.
Axiom 4 mission plays a significant role in the advancement of the Indian space technology industry, and it opens up the doors of more international collaborations providing us with more resources and research opportunities.
