India announced today, Tuesday, a crew of four members in preparation for its first space mission, named "Gaganyaan," as it aims to become the fourth country in the world to send a manned mission into space, following its historic lunar landing at the South Pole just months ago. Gaganyaan, meaning "Sky Vehicle" in Hindi, is India's first mission of its kind and will cost approximately 90.23 billion rupees ($1.1 billion). It includes launching a crewed spacecraft into orbit at an altitude of 400 kilometers next year and returning it via a landing in the Indian Ocean.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented the crew members, all Air Force officers, with "astronaut wings" at a space center in Kerala during their first public appearance after months of rigorous training. Modi stated in a message on platform X that "Gaganyaan is a historic achievement for India, coming after Rakesh Sharma, an Air Force officer, became the first Indian to travel into space nearly four decades ago during a Soviet mission."
Modi told the astronauts, "It’s our time, the countdown has begun, as well as the rocket." It remains unclear whether all four astronauts will participate in the mission.
