By Prarthana Mitra
After signing a MoU with France over Gaganyaan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi government’s next ambitious space project, the centre is now poised to strike a similar deal with Russia.
Russian president Vladimir Putin, over his diplomatic visit to New Delhi next month, will reportedly finalise the deal to share space expertise and knowledge with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), tasked with coordinating India’s first human mission in space in forty years.
According to sources, these developments took place and were taken up during External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s recent visit to Moscow.
What is Gaganyaan?
Gaganyaan aims to break the record set by Rakesh Sharma, the only Indian to have visited outer space in 1984, aboard a spacecraft of the erstwhile Soviet Union. Under Gaganyaan, ISRO hopes to send three Indians to space by 2022.
Announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day, Gaganyaan first enlisted French help and knowledge, with a memorandum of understanding between both nations signed earlier this month.
A history in space
Russia is one of the three nations extensively involved in infrastructure sharing programmes with ISRO, besides France and the UK.
Prarthana Mitra is a staff writer at Qrius
Stay updated with all the insights.
Navigate news, 1 email day.
Subscribe to Qrius