The joint ISRO-NASA mission to fly two Gaganyatris to the ISS | Explained Premium

ISRO astronauts selected for joint mission to ISS with NASA, undergoing training in U.S. for 2024 spaceflight.

The story so far: On August 2, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that two of the astronauts selected for its maiden human spaceflight mission, ‘Gaganyaan’, will travel to the U.S. in the first week of August to train there for a mission to the International Space Station. In particular, Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla has been assigned to fly to the ISS while Group Captain Prashanth Nair will be his back-up.

On June 22, 2023, the U.S. and India issued a joint statement after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Joe Biden. Among other things, the statement mentioned “a joint effort to the International Space Station in 2024”. The two astronauts — or “Gaganyatris”, as ISRO is calling them — are the Indian participants for this mission.

ISRO published a statement on August 2 in which it said: “During the mission, the Gaganyatri will undertake selected scientific research and technology demonstration experiments on board the ISS as well as engage in space outreach activities. The experiences gained during this mission will be beneficial for [Gaganyaan] and it will also strengthen human space flight cooperation between ISRO and NASA.”

On February 27, during a visit to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, Prime Minister Modi announced the names of the four astronaut-candidates for Gaganyaan mission — the ambitious ISRO mission to fly Indian astronauts to space onboard an Indian launch vehicle.

The other two, apart from Mr. Shukla and Mr. Nair, were Group Captains Ajit Krishnan and Angad Pratap. All four are test pilots with the Indian Air Force.

They have undergone training in India and Russia; according to the India-U.S. joint statement, NASA will provide Mr. Shukla and Mr. Nair “advanced training … at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas”.

According to ISRO, a “National Mission Assignment Board” selected Mr. Shukla and Mr. Nair for the joint mission. All astronauts going to the ISS need to be approved by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel, which did so. This panel has representatives from the ISS’s five international partners: NASA, Russia’s Roscosmos, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency.