Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla Selected For Indo-US Mission To Space Station, Says ISRO; Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair To Be Back-Up Pilot

Bengaluru, August 2: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair have been selected for an upcoming Indo-US mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Friday.

Group Captain Shukla's name has been recommended as the primary astronaut and Nair will be his backup, ISRO said. This has been done on the recommendation of the NASA-identified service provider Axiom Space Inc, sources in the ISRO told PTI.

In an official release, the ISRO said its Human Space Flight Centre has entered into a space flight agreement with US' Axiom Space Inc, for its fourth mission to the ISS and a National Mission Assignment Board has "recommended two 'gaganyatris' (astronauts) --Group Captain Shukla (prime) and Group Captain Nair (backup)".

"The assigned crewmembers will be finally approved to fly to the International Space Station by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP). The recommended gaganyatris will commence their training for the mission from the first week of August 2024," ISRO said.

During the mission, the 'gaganyatris' will undertake selected scientific research and technology demonstration experiments on board the ISS and engage in space outreach activities, it said.

"The experiences gained during this mission will be beneficial for the Indian Human Space Programme and it will also strengthen human space flight cooperation between ISRO and NASA," the Indian space agency said.

India and the US are collaborating to send an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station in 2024, American President Joe Biden said after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington last year.

Shukla and Nair are among the four astronauts, whose names were announced by Modi earlier this year for India's maiden human spaceflight mission next year. Two other pilots were Group Captain Ajit Krishnan and Group Captain Angad Pratap.