She's a friend out of this world: ISRO to place half humanoid 'Vyommitra' in Gaganyaan

Arrestingly real-looking, she appeared even more so as she introduced herself with lips synced: “Hi, I am Vyommitra.” That was the half humanoid's first brush with the public, as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday unveiled its first prototype for an unmanned space mission this year-end.

Ahead of the 'Gaganyaan' manned mission in December 2021, Vyommitra or her final version will take off to space to mimick what Indian astronauts would eventually do. As crowds watched in awe, Vyommitra talked, gestured, blinked and proudly proclaimed her capability to even recognize and respond to astronaut queries.

Her realism enhanced by anthropomorphic proportions and a very expressive face, Vyommitra was but only a half humanoid for a reason. She had two arms and torso, but no legs. She could only bend sidewards and forward. But that would hardly matter since her tasks were beyond physical.

Vyommitra's exploits inside that space capsule would have a big say in Gaganyaan's final mission. Four Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots have already been shortlisted for the mission, and three of them would eventually soar spacewards.

Her tasks are cut out: Respond to the new environment, generate warnings whenever necessary while keeping in constant contact with the Isro command centre, operate switches, visually monitor the crew module, receive voice commands and respond via speech. Yes, and in two languages!

Developed by ISRO's Thiruvananathapuram-based Inertial Systems Unit (ISU), more Vyommitra-like prototypes are on the space agency's agenda. As Sam Dayala, the ISU director explained, the prototypes sent aboard the unmanned missions would test how a human would feel in outer space.

The prototypes, fitted with sensors, would be accordingly conditioned to report when the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels drop inside the crew capsule. This is precisely why Vyommitra was proclaiming to all: “I can also perform life support operations.” She could do more with Artificial Intelligence, and that was in the pipeline too.

Vyommitra or her more advanced prototype cousin could blast off in December 2020 for a seven-day space odyssey. But after that week stay in low earth orbit, ISRO will test how the capsule and the prototypes perform on reentry into Earth's atmosphere. A second unmanned mission is scheduled for June 2021.

These will be keenly watched by ISRO and the four selected Indian astronauts, all set for training at Glavkosmos, a subsidiary of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the Gaganyaan project in 2019, setting a deadline of 2022 when India celebrates its 75th year of Independence.