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All About Gaganyaan Mission of ISRO UPSC CSE

Gaganyaan Mission

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Summary of Gaganyaan Mission

The Gaganyaan Mission is an ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) project that seeks to demonstrate India’s human spaceflight capabilities. In this mission, a crew of three members will be launched into an orbit of 400 km for a three day mission. By successfully completing this mission, India will become only the fourth country to have human spaceflight capabilities after the USA, Russia and China. The mission will involve two uncrewed test flights and a crewed mission. Human-rated LVM 3 will be used for launching the Orbital Module in LEO, where it will revolve around the earth for three days. Then it will be brought back to earth through a series of manoeuvres. ISRO is developing and testing numerous components required for the successful demonstration of human spaceflight capabilities. The crew is undergoing training at the Human Space Flight Center in Bangalore. Currently, the mission is expected to be launched in 2025.

It is a female humanoid robot that will fly in space aboard the testflight mission of Gaganyaan.

  • Vyommitra simply means friend in space. In Sanskrit, Vyom means space, and Mitra means friend.
  • It will simulate human activities in space.
  • This Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled humanoid will perform some basic tasks, such as operating equipment in the Crew Module, testing safety mechanisms, receiving and acting on commands, etc.
  • It will send useful information to the ground station that will aid in testing the life support system of the mission.

In the Gaganyaan mission, a three-membered crew will be launched into space in a low-earth orbit (LEO) of 400 km. The mission will span over three days. Then the crew will be brought safely back to earth, by landing in Indian water.
The mission is comprised of three phases:

  • Ascent Phase: Human rated Launch Vehicle Mark III (HLVM3) will carry the Orbital Module to a LEO.
  • Orbital Phase: This phase starts with the injection of Orbital Module into an elliptical LEO. By using the onboard engines, this orbit will be raised to a circular orbit. The Orbital Module will revolve around the earth for three days. This phase will end with the de-boost manoeuvre for the return journey.
  • Descent Phase: This phase will begin with the de-boost manoeuvre towards the earth. A chain of activities will be carried out in this phase that will ensure a low-velocity splashdown in the predesignated Indian sea waters.
  • Rakesh Sharma is the first Indian who travelled in space. Although several Indian origin astronauts have been to space, they were not citizens.
  • Rakesh Sharma flew aboard the Soyuz-11 spacecraft. The spacecraft delivered the crew to the Salyut 7 orbital space station in low-earth orbit.
  • He spent 7 days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes aboard the Salyut 7 space station.
  • With this expedition, India became the 14th nation to send a person to space.

The most reliable launch vehicle, Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3), is chosen for the Gaganyaan mission.

  • All the systems in LVM3 are re-configured to meet the specific requirements of a human space flight. Hence, it is named Human-rated LVM 3.
  • It will consist of a Crew Escape System (CES) that will ensure that, in case of emergency, either at the launch pad or during the ascent phase, the Crew Module (CM) is taken to a safe distance.

The names of India’s astronauts-designate are

  • Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair,
  • Group Captain Ajit Krishnan,
  • Group Captain Angad Pratap,
  • Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla

Background of Gaganyaan Mission

First Indian in Space

  • Rakesh Sharma is the first Indian who travelled in space. Although several Indian origin astronauts have been to space, they were not citizens.
  • Rakesh Sharma flew aboard the Soyuz-11 spacecraft. The spacecraft delivered the crew to the Salyut 7 orbital space station in low-earth orbit.
  • He spent 7 days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes aboard the Salyut 7 space station.
  • With this expedition, India became the 14th nation to send a person to space.

About Gaganyaan Mission


Human rated LVM 3- HLVM3 Orbital Module (OM)
  • The most reliable launch vehicle, Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3), is chosen for the Gaganyaan mission.
  • All the systems in LVM3 are re-configured to meet the specific requirements of a human space flight. Hence, it is named Human-rated LVM 3.
  • It will consist of a Crew Escape System (CES) that will ensure that, in case of emergency, either at the launch pad or during the ascent phase, the Crew Module (CM) is taken to a safe distance.
  • OM will revolve around the earth for the three-day mission.
  • It comprises the Crew Module (CM) and the Service Module (SM).
    • CM: It will be a habitable space for the crew, and it is designed for a safe re-entry into the earth's atmosphere and a safe descent till touchdown.
    • SM: It will provide necessary support to the CM.

Significance of Gaganyaan Mission


Vyommitra Vyomanauts
  • It is a female humanoid robot that will fly in space aboard the testflight mission of Gaganyaan.
  • Vyommitra simply means friend in space. In Sanskrit, Vyom means space, and Mitra means friend.
  • It will simulate human activities in space.
  • This Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled humanoid will perform some basic tasks, such as operating equipment in the Crew Module, testing safety mechanisms, receiving and acting on commands, etc.
  • It will send useful information to the ground station that will aid in testing the life support system of the mission.
  • Indian astronauts are named as vyomanauts.
  • The names of India’s astronauts-designate are
    • Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair,
    • Group Captain Ajit Krishnan,
    • Group Captain Angad Pratap,
    • Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla
  • The crew is undergoing training at the Human Space Flight Centre, Bangalore.
  • Previously, the crew had undergone general training at Russia’s Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre.

Challenges

Huge budget: The Gaganyaan mission has a massive budget of around INR 10,000 crores. This budget might increase as there were numerous delays due to unforeseen circumstances.

Re-entry of crew: During re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, a high amount of heat is generated due to friction between the vehicle and air particles. The temperature of the vehicle surface might reach 1700oC. Hence, this manoeuvre is very difficult and requires precision. Even a minute of mistake may cause disastrous consequences.

Life support: The Crew Module (CM) is supposed to provide life support to the crew in space by utilising a small space. It is a daunting task as it will involve shielding the crew from an extremely hostile environment that is laced with radiation and no oxygen.

Problems during the ascent phase: launching vehicle will burn tonnes of fuel during liftoff. This makes the launch vehicle like a fireball. There is a possibility of a massive explosion during the liftoff or during the ascent phase, which will last for 16 minutes. Hence, the crew will be in a vulnerable position during the ascent phase, and the Crew Escape System has to be designed and developed to handle any kind of emergency

Recovery and rehabilitation: the crew will be subjected to a transitioning gravity field and a hostile environment. This means the crew would be at risk of developing various health problems. That is why the recovery and rehabilitation of the crew will be a difficult task.

Conclusion of Gaganyaan Mission

The Gaganyaan mission will be the stepping stone for India towards space exploration. It will provide ISRO with the necessary experience and expertise to accomplish more complex and ambitious missions, such as the Indian space station, space tourism, and many more. ISRO’s track record has been exceptional. It includes a successful soft landing on the lunar surface with Chandrayaan 3 and Mangalyaan, which reached the Martian orbit in its maiden attempt. But human spaceflight is a very difficult task to achieve, involving fatality risks. Therefore, it would be prudent to take all the necessary precautions, even if this causes some delays. The success of this mission will propel India towards deep space exploration in the decades to come.

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