ISRO will send female-looking humanoid 'Vyommitra' into space in second phase of Gaganyaan mission

Chandigarh, August 28

Minister of State for Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh, on Saturday gave updates regarding the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Gaganyaan mission.

The minister said the trials for ISRO’s mission will commence in the first or second week of October.

He said the second phase of the Gaganyaan mission would involve the launch of ‘Vyommitra’ into space.

“After these two phases, astronauts numbering between one and three will be sent as part of the manned mission of the Gaganyaan project. I think this may start by 2024,” Singh said.

‘Vyommitra’ is a female-looking humanoid robot being developed by ISRO. The name has been derived from two Sanskrit words, ‘vyoma’ (meaning space) and ‘mitra’ (meaning friend). The humanoid was first unveiled on January 22, 2020 at the Human Spaceflight and Exploration symposium in Bengaluru.

About the Gaganyaan mission, it is a project to send three astronauts into a 400-kilometre orbit for three days, followed by their safe return to the earth.