Gaganyaan Mission: ISRO Simulates Spacecraft-Like Conditions In Bengaluru For India's Future Astronauts

Ahead of India’s first human spaceflight mission under the Gaganyaan programme, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is running a series of simulation missions, known as Gaganyaan ‘Analog’ Experiments (Gyanex), the Indian Express reported.

Conducted inside a static mock-up simulator in Bangalore, these missions allow astronaut-designates to spend days in spacecraft-like conditions, performing tasks that would mirror life in orbit.

The aim is twofold: to acclimatise astronauts to the challenges of confinement and to help ISRO fine-tune protocols for communication, resource management, and scientific experiments.

Officials said these trials replicate nearly every aspect of a human spaceflight mission, except the absence of weightlessness.

“The only thing which is unlike an actual human spaceflight mission is the presence of gravity. It is extremely difficult to simulate a microgravity environment on Earth. All the other procedures and protocols have to be followed during this period,” an official from the space department was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

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During the exercises, participants live inside a mock crew module, consume food developed by DRDO, and follow the strict routines expected in space.

The astronauts also conduct onboard experiments, with only resources available inside the module.

The first trial, Gyanex-1, took place in July, where Group Captain Angad Pratap and two colleagues spent 10 days inside the simulator.

They completed 11 science experiments, while ISRO recorded detailed observations on the effects of confinement.

Another official said that the team had recorded several parameters related to the astronauts’ activities and the effects of confinement during the trial.

These observations, the official noted, yielded “a lot of interesting findings” that would help refine mission protocols.

The official added that multiple such experiments are planned ahead of the crewed launch.

India’s maiden crewed Gaganyaan mission is targeted for 2027.

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