India, France holds discussions for Mission Alpha-like equipment for Gaganyaan astronauts

India and France are in an advanced stage of discussions for providing Mission Alpha-like equipment to ‘Gaganyaan' astronauts. 

According to a senior official at the French space agency, National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), the discussions are in the final stage and an announcement is likely to be made soon regarding the same. The official also confirmed that the work on the instrumentation for Mission Alpha was on. 

Mission Alpha is the name given to French Astronaut Thomas Pesquet’s mission, under which, he will be sent off to the International Space Station (ISS) while flying on Crew Dragon spacecraft early next year.

Key Highlights 

• ISRO and CNES are holding discussions for providing required equipment to the Gaganyaan astronauts, similar to the one that will be used by French Astronaut Thomas Pesquet during Mission Alpha. 

• Pesquet, who spent six months on the International Space Station between November 2016 and June 2017, is currently training with Crew Dragon spacecraft and station simulators for Mission Alpha, in which he will return to the ISS.

• His new mission has been named ‘Alpha’ after a competition organised by the European Space Agency in partnership with CNES that attracted more than 27,000 entries. The name ‘Alpha’ came up 47 times in the entries received.

• The four short-listed Indian Air Force pilots and prospective astronauts for India’s Gagangyaan mission are currently undergoing training in Russia.

Significance

France has a well-established mechanism for space medicine and it also has the French Institute of Space Medicine and Physiology space clinic, which is a subsidiary of CNES, where space surgeons undergo training. Indian space surgeons are scheduled to visit France in 2020 once the COVID-19 situation eases for training. 

Mission Alpha

The European Space Agency has established User Support and Operations Centres (USOC) to allow European scientists to gain access to the International Space Station and coordinate activities there. One of the centres, the centre for the development of microgravity applications and space operations (CADMOS) is located at CNES's Toulouse Space Centre. 

The CADMOS centre is a point of contact between the ground segments in the US, Europe and Russia and the science teams supporting astronauts, as they perform experiments in real-time during human space flights. 

Background

India and France share close collaborations in the space sector. The space agencies of the two nations are also collaborating on the nearly Rs 10,000 crore Gaganyaan mission, which aims to send three Indians to space by 2022. French flight surgeon Brigitte Godard was in India in 2019 to train Indian physicians and engineers.