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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, heaped praises on the indigenous character of India's upcoming space mission - 'Gaganyaan' as he introduced the four astronaut-designates for the mission. He noted that while it is after about four decades that an Indian will go to space, on this occasion, the time, countdown and even the rocket is India's own.
"...The entire country met its four astronaut-designates for the Gaganyaan Mission. They are not just four people but are four forces that will take 1.4 billion aspirations to space. After 40 years, an Indian will go to space. But this time, the time, countdown and the rocket belong to us, the PM remarked at the event held at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram.
Who are four astronaut-designates for Gaganyaan mission?
He congratulated the four astronaut-designates - Group Captain P Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander S Shukla - and also remembered the recent landmark achievement made by India through Chandrayaan-3 mission.
"The 'Shiv Shakti Point' (on Moon's South Pole) is showing India's capability to the entire world," he said. The 'Shiv Shakti Point' is the position on the Moon where Chandrayaan-3 landed on August 23 last year. The historic moment etched India's name as the only fourth nation in the world to have achieved soft landing on the Moon.
At the event, Modi also reviewed the progress of the Gaganyaan Mission and bestowed astronaut wings to the astronaut designates.
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What is Gaganyaan mission?
The Gaganyaan mission aims to demonstrate the indigenous capability to undertake a human space flight mission to low Earth orbit. Targeted at the year 2025, the mission aims to launch a crew into space to orbit 400 km from the Earth for a three-day mission. The mission's success will be lodged after the crew safely splashes back in Indian waters upon their return.
For the mission, 'Vyommitra', a female robot, has also been designed to carry out safety and other related tests during the initial unmanned mission flight.
