Russia assists India in preparing first manned space mission — envoy
NEW DELHI, February 10. /TASS/. Russia assists its Indian partners in preparing for the first manned space mission, Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov told TASS on Monday.
Currently, Russia’s Glavkosmos (part of the State Space Corporation Roscosmos) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) identify three basic areas of their joint work: crewed space programs, including India’s Gaganyaan mission, engine-making and satellite navigation, the ambassador specified.
"Russian specialists render assistance in creating major spacecraft systems for crewed space launch, and also support in the selection, medical examination and training of Indian cosmonauts," he elaborated.
Since December 2021, Russia and India have been bound by an inter-governmental agreement on measures to protect technologies related to cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, the Russian diplomat pointed out.
"It helps interact in creating and operating launch vehicles and ground-based space infrastructure and conclude contracts on the delivery and adaptation of liquid-propellant rocket engines in ISRO’s interests," he stressed.
Russia and India "have substantial prospects for expanding their bilateral dialogue related to India’s planned ambitious projects, including the Chandrayaan-4 mission of launching a spacecraft to the Moon and subsequently bringing lunar samples to Earth, the launch of a Venus orbiter and the construction of the Bharatiya Antariksh space station, the Russian ambassador said.
In August 2018, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially announced that his country would send its first national space crew to orbit by August 2022 when India would celebrate 75 years of its independence from British colonial rule. However, the Gaganyaan mission was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, which halted most work on the project in March 2020. Four crew members have already completed training in Russia's Star City and are now continuing their training in India.
Later, Modi assigned ISRO with constructing the South Asian nation’s first space station by 2035 and sending astronauts to the Moon by 2040. The Indian prime minister also urged to develop programs of sending an orbiter mission to Venus and a lander mission to Mars.
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