What 'Female' Robot Vyommitra On Ganganyaan Mission Means For India

India has been reaching for the sky with its significant strides in space missions. This week, Science & Technology Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the Indian Space Research Organisation is primed to launch Vyommitra, a 'female' robot astronaut, to space next year, ahead of the human spacelift. Speaking to Aaj Tak, Singh said that the Gaganyaan project is all set to demonstrate capabilities in the manned mission. 

ISRO's Vyommitra robot was introduced back in 2020, as a humanoid that can mimic human-like mental and technical activity. Vyommitra can receive and follow commands sent from ground stations and also provide them with tips on various aspects relating to the spacecraft. It can speak two languages, and ISRO stated that it gives the human astronauts mental support when they experience stress.  During the G20 conclave in August in Delhi, the Minister had said that a trial spaceflight would be attempted initially in the first or second week of October. 

How Gaganyaan Could Boost India's Space Sector

India's space sector has achieved global plaudits for its recent successful Chandrayan-3 landing and research. Singh announced on Wednesday that the Gaganyaan mission could augment the value of the space sector by five times in the next 15 to 16 years. The current value of the sector stands at $8 billion. A recent report by Arthur D. Little (ADL) predicted that at this rate, the Indian space economy could shoot up to $100 billion by 2040. 

Singh said that with the help of private investors, India has been able to raise Rs 1000 crore since the onset of this financial year. He thanked the Prime Minister's efforts to leverage innovations by the private space startups to boost the sector's economy. "Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has broken taboos of the past by opening the Space sector to public-private-participation. From just 1 Startup in the Space sector in 2014, we now have 190 Space Startups,” he said.

"India has always had a huge talent pool and passion to dream big,” he added. ISRO’s Gaganyaan project envisages a demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a human crew to an orbit of 400 km and bringing them back safely to Earth, by landing in Indian sea waters. He also talked about India's efforts in the Deep Sea Mission project, which would conduct explorations on deep-sea resources.

Singh said that a vehicle called MATSYA will carry three persons to a depth of 5,000-6,000 metres for exploration of deep-sea resources like minerals. This mission, he said, is expected to be realised in the next three years. “If an Indian travels to Outer Space about the same time as another Indian explores the deep sea 5 kilometres below, that may be a mere coincidence,” he remarked.

India's Triumphant Chandrayaan

At the G20 summit in August, Minister Singh explained that the Gaganyaan project was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also talked about the apprehensions that ISRO faced during the Chandrayaan-3 mission, especially after the pandemic and Chandrayaan-2, adding that the team's first nervous moment was when Chandrayaan-3 left the Earth towards the moon’s orbit.

The Union Minister narrated the relief the government felt when Chandrayaan-3 finally touched the moon’s less-explored south pole days before the summit. Singh said that the moon landing was a quantum jump in the history and journey of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the entire country. 

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