ISRO Vyommitra, the Woman Robot Astronaut, Launch This Year Before Gaganyaan Mission

Space News ,India :- In a media interaction held in New Delhi, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and Space, Jitendra Singh, revealed that the uncrewed "Vyommitra" mission is set for launch in the third quarter of this year. This mission precedes India's landmark "Gaganyaan" project, scheduled for 2025, which aims to conduct the nation's first human-manned space flight.

Derived from Sanskrit words, "Vyoma" (meaning space) and "Mitra" (meaning friend), Vyommitra is a female robot astronaut equipped with the capability to monitor module parameters, issue alerts, and execute life support operations. The robot can perform tasks such as operating six panels and responding to queries, simulating human functions in the space environment.

Jitendra Singh explained that Vyommitra is designed to interact with the life support system and replicate human functions in space. The successful completion of the first Test Vehicle Flight TV D1 on October 21 last year marked a crucial step in the preparation for the Gaganyaan mission, qualifying the crew escape system and parachute system.

Singh emphasized that the human rating of the launch vehicle is complete, and all propulsion stages are qualified. As India gears up for its first-ever manned space flight with Gaganyaan, the uncrewed unmanned robot flight Vyommitra is scheduled for this year.

The Gaganyaan project aims to showcase India's human space capabilities by launching a crew of astronauts into a 400-kilometer orbit and safely bringing them back to Earth by landing in India's sea waters.