Indian Astronaut Set To Blast Off To ISS By April 2025 | NASA-ISRO Collaboration

New Delhi: By April next year, an Indian astronaut is expected to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the NASA-ISRO collaborative initiative, as announced today by Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh.

Group Captains Shubhanshu Shukla and Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, who have been designated as Indian astronaut candidates, are currently undergoing training in the United States for the Axiom Space Ax-4 mission, as reported by Hindustan Times.

Indian Astronaut Set To Blast Off By April 2025

Shukla has been assigned to the Ax-4 mission, while Nair will serve as the backup candidate. Singh disclosed the plan during a press conference in New Delhi, held in anticipation of the inaugural National Space Day celebrations. These celebrations are set to commemorate the landing of the Vikram lander on the Moon on August 23 of the previous year.

The theme for National Space Day has been announced as "Touching Lives while Touching the Moon: India's Space Saga", as reported by Hindustan Times. On August 23, ISRO will release the scientific data gathered by the Chandrayaan-3 mission, which will be made available to researchers. Over the past two months, more than one thousand events have been organized nationwide in honor of the occasion.

President Droupadi Murmu is scheduled to participate in the National Space Day festivities at the Bharat Mandapam and will present prizes to the winners of the Bharatiya Antariksh Hackathon and the ISRO Robotics Challenge. In a briefing on upcoming space missions, ISRO Scientific Secretary Shantanu Bhatawdekar reported that the ISRO-NASA joint mission NISAR is projected to be launched after February next year, as per media reports.

The 12-meter reflector of the earth observation satellite, which has been described as the most expensive ever built, encountered an anomaly and was sent back to the US for corrective measures. It is anticipated that the reflector will return to India by October and be integrated with the satellite.

Due to the solar eclipses occurring from November to January, the NISAR mission cannot be launched before February, according to Bhatawdekar. The Chandrayaan-4 mission is projected to be launched in 2027, pending government approval. The mission aims to return samples of lunar rock and soil to Earth, as per media reports.

Additionally, the ISRO-Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission designated Chandrayaan-5 will explore the polar region of the Moon. This Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) project is a collaborative international effort, with JAXA responsible for the lunar rover and ISRO for the lander that will carry the rover. Observation instruments from NASA and the European Space Agency will also be mounted on the rover.