India announced the names of the four astronaut-designates for the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission, on Tuesday

The names of the four astronaut-designates for India's Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission, scheduled for launch in 2025, were revealed on Tuesday. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, the names of the Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots—Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla—were first made public.

One of the four will be chosen to make up the mission's final crew.  They were selected after a stringent procedure, and after being shortlisted, they have been trained in many facets of space travel, first in Russia and then at the Astronaut-trained Facility that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) built in Bengaluru. On this occasion, the Prime Minister gave the four "astronaut wings." 

The Gaganyaan programme, according to ISRO, aims to show that India is capable of carrying out missions including human space flight to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). In the long run, the mission is anticipated to open the door for a "sustained Indian human space exploration programme." 

The prime minister was shown a presentation of Gaganyaan mission-related equipment upon his arrival by ISRO chairman S. Somanath, which included "Vyommitra," the humanoid robot that the space agency had created specifically for the project. 

Present at the event were Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan.