Indian female robot astronaut 'Vyommitra' to fly into space this year ahead of ISRO's Gaganyaan mission

While the unmanned robotic flight “Vyommitra” will take place this year, Gaganyaan will be launched next year.

Vyommitra, a female semi-humanoid robot from the Indian Space Research Organization for the future unmanned space missions on display at the Human Spaceflight exhibition and conference in Bengaluru. (ANI photo)

Vyommitra mission: Female robotic astronaut “Vyommitra” will fly into space ahead of ISRO's ambitious “Gaganyaan” mission, which will be India's first human-manned spaceflight that will take Indian astronauts into space.

Disclosing this in New Delhi during an interaction with the media, Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said that the unmanned “Vyommitra” mission is planned for the third quarter of this year, while a manned mission “ Gaganyaan” will be launched next year. that's 2025.

“Vyommitra” is a name derived from two Sanskrit words namely “Vyoma” (meaning space) and “Mitra” (meaning friend). This female robotic astronaut, the minister said, is equipped with the ability to monitor module parameters, issue alerts and perform life support operations. It can perform tasks such as operating six panels and responding to the queries, he explained.

Jitendra Singh further explained that the “Vyommitra” astronaut has been designed in such a way that it simulates human functions in the space environment and communicates with the life support system.

It is pertinent to mention that in the run-up to the launch of India's first-ever manned space flight named “Gaganyaan”, the first test vehicle flight TV D1 was conducted on October 21 last year. This was to qualify the crew escape system and parachute system. The human review of the launch vehicle has been completed. All propulsion stages are qualified. All preparations have been made.

While the unmanned unmanned robotic flight “Vyommitra” will take place this year, “Gaganyaan” will be launched next year.

The Gaganyaan project aims to demonstrate human space capabilities by launching a crew of astronauts into a 400 kilometer orbit and then returning these human astronauts safely to Earth by landing them in the marine waters of India.

Meanwhile, Jitendra Singh informed that Chandrayaan 3, which landed on the moon's south pole on August 23 last year, is following its normal expected course of action. The vital input sent through it will be shared over time.