Gaganyaan: Mission MITRA commences in Leh

As part of the Gaganyaan mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is undertaking Mission MITRA (Mapping of Interoperable Traits and Response Assessment) in Leh.

Mission MITRA, a first-of-its-kind team behavioral study designed by ISRO and the India Air Force’s (IAF) Institute of Aerospace Medicine, commenced on April 2 and will go on till April 9.

ISRO said that the crew safety and performance are the most critical elements of all human space flight missions.

“The ability of crew to communicate effectively, adapt to stress, maintain psychological resilience and support one another determines the success and safety of any mission. Analog missions conducted under controlled yet realistic conditions are utilised to understand how crew perform under challenging conditions,” ISRO said.

Towards this ISRO has undertaken mission MITRA in Leh where the altitude is approximately 3,500 metres. Besides Leh also has the environmental conditions of hypoxia, low temperature, and isolation as a natural analog for spaceflight operations

Mission MITRA will examine the physiological, psychological, and operational dynamics of crew and ground teams functioning in a high-altitude environment.

“This study is targeted to generate vital understanding on the team interoperability between the crew and ground control teams and effectiveness of decision making under environmental and operational stress,” the space agency said.

Bengaluru based start-up M/s Protoplanet Pvt. Ltd., is responsible for facility management and statutory protocols.

The Gaganyaan project envisages demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of three members to an orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission and bringing them back safely to Earth by landing in Indian sea waters.

Under the Gaganyaan programme, ISRO intends to carry out three uncrewed missions and one crewed mission. The first un-crewed mission is scheduled to take place this year followed by the first crewed mission.

Group Captains Shubhanshu Shukla, Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Ajit Krishnan, and Angad Pratap are the crew (astronauts) selected for the mission.