The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) may opt for space suits produced by Russia for its Gaganyaan crewed space mission.
According to the Hindustan Times, Indian astronauts participating in the country’s first crewed space mission are likely to travel to space wearing astronaut suits manufactured in Russia.
The Hindustan Times reports that ISRO is considering the use of internationally manufactured astronaut suits to meet the technical requirements set forth by the Gaganyaan program. This decision aims to enhance the safety of astronauts during the inaugural mission.
Currently, ISRO is developing a domestic astronaut suit prototype known as IVA, and this suit is nearing the completion of testing.
ISRO has not yet confirmed the information published by the Hindustan Times.
Astronaut suits developed by Russia’s Zvezda company. (Photo: Sputnik).
In the Gaganyaan crewed space program, India collaborates closely with Russia through various space cooperation agreements. Leaders from Russia and India signed an agreement for collaboration on crewed spaceflights in 2018. ISRO has also received support from Russia in developing life support systems, crew modules, and astronaut training.
During a visit to Vladivostok in 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned that “the long-standing cooperation in the space sector between India and Russia is reaching new heights.”
In 2020, four ISRO astronauts were selected and traveled to Russia to participate in a joint spaceflight training course at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, near Moscow. The astronauts subsequently continued their training process for the mission in India.
Glavkosmos, a subsidiary of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, stated that Indian astronauts visited the Zvezda factory to measure biometric parameters for the production of astronaut suits.
Sreedhara Somanath, the head of ISRO, announced that the Gaganyaan program will be ready for operation in 2024. The crewed space mission is likely to be launched in 2025.
According to the Gaganyaan program’s plan, three Indian astronauts will undertake a flight into space at an altitude of 400 km and return to Earth.
A series of tests are scheduled to take place in the months leading up to the launch. This includes a test flight with a humanoid robot named Vyomitra and an uncrewed flight prior to the crewed mission.
Last October, ISRO conducted its first test flight in preparation for Gaganyaan. The crew module in the test flipped over during its return to Earth. This year, ISRO plans to test the crew module again to ensure it remains upright upon landing in the ocean.
In 2023, the Indian Space Agency achieved several groundbreaking milestones, successfully launching the Chandrayaan-3 lunar probe to the Moon’s south pole. In September, ISRO initiated its first mission to the Sun with the Aditya-L1 probe. Last week, Aditya-L1 was successfully placed into orbit, and it will operate in space for the next five years, conducting observations.
Following the successful landing on the Moon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on the space agency to aim for establishing India’s own space station by 2035 and sending the first Indian to the Moon by 2040.
