Gaganyaan Mission: 3 Indians to be sent to space for 7 days by 2022, Modi government approves budget

In a massive boost to Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) ambitions to send humans to space, the Narendra Modi government on Friday approved the budget for the indigenous human spaceflight programme - Gaganyaan. Under the mission Gaganyaan, a three-member crew will be sent to space for a minimum of 7 days, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad announced. This will be India's first manned mission. The project will cost around 10,000 crore Rupees. When completed, this would make India only the fourth nation to send a human in the space after the United States, Russia and China.

During his Independence Day 2018 speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the mission Gaganyaan under which an Indian will be sent to space. "When India celebrates the 75th year of Independence in 2022, and if possible even before, an Indian son or daughter will undertake a manned space mission on board 'Gaganyaan' carrying the national flag," the PM announced from the ramparts of the Red Fort.

Reacting to PM Modi’s sudden announcement, ISRO chairman K Sivan had said that India has already developed technologies such as human crew module, environment control and life support system, which are the key for any manned mission to space. ISRO plans to conduct experiments on microgravity through its astronauts.

“Technologies that will help in sending an Indian astronaut to space - like human crew module, environment control and life support system - have already been developed,” Sivan had said.

Indigenous human spaceflight programme "Gaganyaan" approved by Union Cabinet. Three Indians to be sent to space for at least 7 days at a total cost of Rs 10,000-crore, reports ANIhttps://t.co/buv2iFhZ9J pic.twitter.com/MdzoNhNRg4

— News Nation (@NewsNationTV) December 28, 2018

In September this year, India's ISRO had tied up with French space agency CNES to work together in space medicine, astronaut health monitoring, life support, radiation protection, space debris protection and personal hygiene systems. During the sixth edition of Bengaluru Space Expo, French space agency President Jean-Yves Le Gall had announced that both the agencies will learn from each other's expertise to execute the mission Gaganyaan.

“CNES is especially proud to be working on this endeavour alongside ISRO to share the experience it has acquired from the first French human spaceflights to Thomas Pesquet’s Proxima mission, and to hone our own expertise by learning from ISRO’s innovative developments in the field of crew transport,” Gall had said.

It is envisioned that infrastructure such as CADMOS centre for development of microgravity applications and space operations or the MEDES space clinic will be used for training of future Indian astronauts, as well as the exchange of specialist personnel, Gall said.