Test pilots Prashanth Nair, Angad Prathap, Ajit Krishnan, and Chauhan will be India's first astronauts for the manned space mission Gaganyaan. They were selected at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine and trained in Russia
According to a TOI report, India is taking significant steps towards sending its first astronauts into space as part of the Gaganyaan mission. Four potential astronauts are currently receiving training in Bengaluru, although the government has not yet officially announced their names.
The selected individuals are believed to be either wing commanders or group captains. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet with the potential astronauts at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. India will become the fourth country to send a human being into space if the mission proves successful. The four test pilots' names who are undergoing training for India's first human space mission.
As per TOI, only 12 test pilots who expressed an interest in the Gaganyaan mission were able to pass the first phase of selection. The selection process took place in 2019 at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Bengaluru, which is under the Indian Air Force.
Following multiple rounds of selection, Prashant Nair, Angad Pratap, Ajit Krishnan, and Chauhan were approved by IAM to be part of the Gaganyaan mission. In 2020, ISRO sent those four individuals to Russia for initial training. The training ended in 2021, and it is believed that the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to the delay in completing the training.
