Malayali Prasanth Balakrishnan selected as backup pilot for NASA-ISRO space station mission

Bengaluru: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair have been recommended as the prime and backup mission pilots respectively for ISRO's collaboration with Axiom Space Inc. on the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Interestingly, Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair is Malayali. He hails from Palakkad district of Kerala. Hailing from Nenmara, he joined the Air Force in 1999 after completing engineering at NSS College, Palakkad. He received the sword of honour given to the best-performing cadet during overall training in 1998. He is a Sukhoi fighter pilot Group Captain and has been undergoing training for India's dream mission for the past few years. He was also the first rank holder at the United States Air Force Air Command and Staff College.

ISRO announced on Friday also noted that that its Human Space Flight Centre has entered into a space flight agreement with Axiom Space Inc., USA. 

“The assigned crewmembers will be finally approved to fly to the International Space Station by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP). The recommended gaganyatris will commence their training for the mission from the first week of August 2024,” ISRO said in a statement.

During the mission, the Gaganyatris will undertake selected scientific research and technology demonstration experiments on board the ISS, as well as engage in space outreach activities.

“The experiences gained during this mission will be beneficial for the Indian Human Space Programme and it will also strengthen human space flight cooperation between ISRO and NASA,” the Indian space agency said.

The space agency highlighted that the joint statement issued by ISRO and the US space agency NASA in June 2023, during the official state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the USA, envisioned a joint ISRO-NASA mission to the ISS.

Meanwhile, the Axiom-4 mission crew will include the US's Peggy Whitson (Commander), India's Group Captain Shukla (Pilot), Poland's Sławosz Uznanski (Mission Specialist), and Hungary's Tibor Kapu (Mission Specialist)

With PTI inputs