India's robot astronaut 'Vyommitra': 5 things to know

Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that the 'Vyommitra Mission' is scheduled for the third quarter of this year while a manned mission, 'Gaganyaan', is scheduled to be launched in 2025.

India's woman robot astronaut 'Vyommitra' will fly into space ahead of the Indian Space Reseach Organisation's (ISRO) 'Gaganyaan' mission making it India's first human-manned space flight carrying Indian astronauts into space, according to a press release by the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

Union Minister of state (Independent Charge) Jitendra Singh said that the 'Vyommitra Mission' is scheduled for the third quarter of this year while a manned mission, 'Gaganyaan', is scheduled to be launched next year in 2025.

5 things to know about 'Vyommitra Mission':

- Vyommitra is a name derived from two Sanskrit words: 'Vyoma' meaning space and 'Mitra' meaning friend.

- The female robot astronaut can monitor module parameters, issue alerts and execute life-support operations, adding that it can perform tasks such as operating six panels and responding to queries.

- It has been designed in such a manner so as to simulate human functions in the space environment and interact with the Life Support System.

- As a run up to the launch of India's first-ever manned space flight named 'Gaganyaan', the first Test Vehicle Flight TV D1 was accomplished on October 21 last year, which was meant to qualify the crew escape system and parachute system.

- The Gaganyaan project envisages demonstration of human space capabilities by launching a crew of astronauts into an orbit of 400 km, and then bringing back the astronauts safely to Earth.

The minister informed that the human rating of the launch vehicle is complete. "All the propulsion stages are qualified, and all the preparations are in place."

Singh also asserted that the 'Chandrayaan 3', which landed on the South Pole of the Moon on August 23 last year, is following its normal expected course of action.