Vyommitra

‘Vyommitra’, the humanoid designed and developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to fly aboard the Gaganyaan mission, is currently undergoing pre-flight ground tests.

About ‘Vyommitra’ –

• ‘Vyommitra’, the humanoid designed and developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to fly aboard the Gaganyaan mission, is currently undergoing pre-flight ground tests at the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU).
  • • IISU is responsible for the design and development of Inertial Systems for Launch Vehicles and Spacecraft programmes of ISRO.
• Over the past few months, IISU has successfully integrated Vyommitra with a computer ‘brain’ which enables it to ‘read’ control panels aboard the unmanned test flights and communicate with the ISRO ground stations.
• Characteristics of Vyommitra —
  • • Vyommitra is a half-humanoid lacking lower limbs.
    • The AI-enabled robot is designed to fly aboard a rocket, withstanding vibrations and shock during the flight.
    • It has been designed to resemble a human with facial expressions and speech and sight capabilities.

About the ‘Gaganyaan Mission’ –

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the Gaganyaan mission in his Independence Day address in 2018 at a cost of Rs 10,000 crore.
• The mission consists of a crewed orbital spacecraft that is expected to take three astronauts to space for a period of seven days.
• Objective – To demonstrate indigenous capability to undertake human space flight mission to Lower Earth Orbit (LEO).
• The spacecraft, which is being developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), consists of a service module and a crew module, collectively known as the Orbital Module.
• It is a joint initiative of –
  • Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO),
  • Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and
  • Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• It is India’s first crewed mission, scheduled to be launched in 2022. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the launch has been postponed to 2024.
• Launch Vehicle – Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV MK III
• Orbit – Low earth orbit (LEO) 300-400 km. The human spaceflight will take 16 minutes to reach the orbit where it will stay for five to seven days.