India's Space Ambitions: How CSIR-ISRO Meet Boosts Gaganyaan Mission Readiness

The programme was hosted by CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR–NAL), Bengaluru, the nodal organising institute.

During the event, Dr N. Kalaiselvi, Secretary, DSIR and Director General, CSIR, outlined CSIR’s scientific and technological contributions towards strengthening India’s space capabilities and stated that the meet would offer valuable takeaways through knowledge sharing among scientists, researchers, astronauts and international experts and would address the gap areas.

She highlighted India’s commitment to indigenous innovation and collaborative R&D, while acknowledging the guidance of Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh in advancing national scientific and technological goals.

Meanwhile, Dr V. Narayanan, Secretary, Department of Space (DoS) and Chairman, ISRO, said that the Gaganyaan space programme requires collaboration across different ministries, R&D institutions, academia and partner organisations.

He outlined evolving mission priorities, including next-generation crew safety systems, advanced life-support technologies and scientific payload development.

He further recognised the contributions of CSIR and India’s national R&D ecosystem and referred to India’s long-term objectives, including a future human mission to the Moon, Mars exploration and the establishment of an Indian Space Station.

During the experience-sharing sessions, Group Captain Prasanth B. Nair, ISRO Astronaut, presented insights from astronaut training, microgravity simulations, operational readiness and recovery frameworks. Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma (Retd.), India’s first astronaut, reflected on his 1984 Soyuz mission and acknowledged NAL’s long-standing aerospace contributions.

Both astronauts emphasised that the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme is aimed at peaceful exploration and human-centric research.

Technical and thematic sessions featured presentations by international and national experts, including Dr Lucia Roccaro (ESA) on human spaceflight physiology, Dr Akiko Otsuka (JAXA) on collaborative research perspectives, and Prof. Pradipta Biswas (IISc) on human–technology interaction and interface design for crewed missions.

The meeting concluded with a collective resolve to strengthen science-technology convergence, mission-driven R&D and multi-agency collaboration to advance India’s human spaceflight programme, aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat.

- IANS