The four Indian astronauts selected for ISRO’s historic Gaganyaan mission have completed their final phase of training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Russia, bringing India one step closer to becoming the fourth nation to independently send humans to space.
The crew, comprising three Indian Air Force pilots and one scientist from ISRO, have undergone 24 months of rigorous training covering zero-gravity operations, emergency procedures, spacecraft systems, and scientific experiments to be conducted in orbit.
The crewed mission, scheduled for December 2026, will see the astronauts orbit Earth for seven days in the Gaganyaan spacecraft before splashing down in the Bay of Bengal.
Indigenous space capability
The Gaganyaan programme represents the culmination of decades of work by ISRO’s scientists and engineers. The spacecraft, launch vehicle (GSLV Mk III), and life support systems have all been designed and built in India.
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