India’s long-awaited human spaceflight dream is entering its most critical phase. With safety and reliability taking centre stage, the Indian Space Research Organization is intensifying preparations for Gaganyaan. A series of uncrewed missions will act as stepping stones before Indian astronauts finally travel to space in 2027. ISRO Chairman V Narayanan has confirmed that India’s first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, is scheduled for 2027, following a series of uncrewed test missions, starting with G1 planned for March 2026.
What Is the Gaganyaan Mission?
- Gaganyaan is India’s flagship human spaceflight programme, led by Indian Space Research Organization .
- The mission aims to send Indian astronauts, known as Gaganyatris, to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for a short-duration mission and return them safely to Earth.
- It will make India the fourth nation, after the US, Russia, and China, to independently achieve human spaceflight capability.
Uncrewed Missions Before Human Flight
- Before carrying astronauts, ISRO has planned three uncrewed missions to validate mission safety.
- The first of these, G1, is nearly 90 per cent complete, with over 8,000 ground and structural tests already conducted.
- These include checks on structural strength, avionics, propulsion, and mission software.
- The uncrewed missions are designed to ensure that every system scores “100 out of 100” in safety, as emphasised by the ISRO Chairman.
Role of Vyommitra and Key Systems Testing
- The G1 mission, scheduled for March 2026, will carry Vyommitra, ISRO’s humanoid robot.
- Vyommitra will help validate life-support systems, crew module environment, re-entry behaviour, and recovery operations.
- These tests are essential to simulate human presence and assess conditions astronauts will face during launch, orbit, and return.
Focus on Astronaut Safety
- ISRO has stressed that astronaut safety is the top priority of the Gaganyaan programme.
- The four identified Gaganyatris—Shubhanshu Shukla, Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Ajit Krishnan, and Angad Pratap are undergoing rigorous training while parallel testing continues on rockets, crew modules, and emergency escape systems.
- Environmental validation and software simulations will follow the ongoing ground tests.
Launch Vehicle and Mission Profile
- The astronauts will be launched aboard the human-rated LVM3 rocket, capable of placing the crew module into a 400 km low Earth orbit.
- The planned human mission will last about three days, after which the crew module will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and land safely using parachutes and recovery systems in Indian waters.
Key Summary at a Glance
| Aspect | Details |
| Why in News? | ISRO confirms Gaganyaan human mission timeline |
| Human Mission Year | 2027 |
| Robot Onboard | Vyommitra |
| Launch Vehicle | LVM3 (human-rated)q |
| Orbit Height | 400 km |
| Mission Duration | About 3 days |
Question
Q. India’s first human spaceflight mission Gaganyaan is planned for which year?
A. 2025
B. 2026
C. 2027
D. 2030