ISRO Chief S Somnath on Saturday said that four astronauts have been selected for the country’s first human space flight programme – Gaganyaan- and the selected astronauts are ready for the mission and are waiting for the flight to happen. Under the Gaganyaan mission, ISRO plans to send four astronauts to space for a period of three days and bring them back safely.
Speaking about the Gaganyaan mission while addressing the students at the 11th convocation of Pandit Deendayal Energy University (PDEU), Somnath said (as quoted by ANI), “For the first mission we have selected four of them, and it is our endeavour to send them at least by 2025 to space and bring them back safely. Bringing them back safely is a very important element of this mission,”
The veteran scientist said a lot of technology will have to developed in the coming days in order to make the dream of Gaganyaan a reality and ISRO is working day and night to make that happen.
While speaking about the astronauts for the Gaganyaan mission, Somnath said, “In the coming days we will see multiple missions without man, and then ultimately the launch of an Indian into space. The astronauts are already ready. They are waiting for the flight to happen. This is one of the important missions that we are looking at,”
Somnath noted that India is now a world leader in space technology even though the investment in this sector remains modest. He noted that the country has been able to build its own spacecraft, build its own launchers and achieve its goals despite budget restrictions. The veteran scientist also spoke about the success of India’s ambitious Chandrayaan-3 mission which helped place the country on an elite list of countries like US, erstwhile Soviet Union and China to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface.
Speaking about Chandrayaan-3’s success, Somnath said, “The energy created out of Chandrayaan-3 landing enables us to dream big today. None of our dreams can be small. With every incremental success that we make, our dreams grow bigger and bigger, and it has to be achieved. And it can only be done by young people who are coming into this sector,”
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Updated: 03 Dec 2023, 11:23 AM IST