India’s woman robot astronaut– Vyommitra– will fly into space ahead of ISRO’s ambitious ‘Gaganyaan’ mission, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Sunday. According to the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science and Technology, the uncrewed Vyommitra Mission is scheduled for the third quarter of this year, while the manned mission Gaganyaan—- the country’s first manned space flight carrying Indian astronauts– is scheduled to be launched in 2025.
The name of “Vyommitra” — the Indian Space Research Organisation’s half humanoid– is derived from two Sanskrit words namely, “Vyoma” (meaning Space) and “Mitra” (meaning Friend).
This female robot astronaut, the Minister said, is equipped with the capability to monitor module parameters, issue alerts and execute life support operations.
“It can perform tasks such as operating six panels and responding to the queries,” he explained.
Dr Jitendra Singh further elaborated that the “Vyommitra” astronaut is designed in such a manner so as to simulate human functions in the space environment and interact with the Life Support System.
Notably, before the run-up to the launch of “Gaganyaan”, the first test vehicle Flight TV D1 was accomplished on October 21, last year.
This was meant to qualify the crew escape system and parachute system. As per an official statement, all the preparations are in place, with the human rating of the launch vehicle complete, and all the propulsion stages qualified.
While the uncrewed unmanned Robot Flight “Vyommitra” will take place this year, “Gaganyaan” will be launched next year.
The Gaganyaan project envisages a demonstration of human space capabilities by launching a crew of astronauts into an orbit of 400 kilometres and then bringing back these human astronauts safely to earth by landing them in India’s sea waters.
Meanwhile, Dr Jitendra Singh informed that Chandrayaan 3, which landed on the South Pole of the Moon on August 23 last year, is following its normal expected course of action. The vital inputs sent by it will be shared in the course of time.
