Coronavirus infection effect on Gaganyaan, campaign may be delayed

India's first mission to send humans to space 'Gaganyaan' may be delayed by a year due to adverse effects of the Covid-19 global epidemic. Officials of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) gave this information. There are plans to send two unmanned missions into space under Gaganyaan, before the plan to send humans to space for the first time. It was planned to send the first unmanned mission to December 2020 and the second unmanned mission in June 2021. It was then planned to send man to space for the first time in December 2021 under Gaganyaan.

ISRO Chairman K.K. "It will be delayed due to Covid-19," Sivan told PTI. "We are aiming for the end of next year or the next," he said on the first of two proposed unmanned missions.

The objective of the Gaganyaan project is to show the ability to send humans to the Earth's lower orbit, under which three astronauts will be sent into orbit. Earlier last month, ISRO had said that the GSLV Mk-3 launch vehicle has been marked for the Gaganyaan mission.

Sivan said Chandrayaan is also in the works on three missions, including a lander and a rover. He said, "We (launch of Chandrayaan 3) have not yet fixed the deadline for this. About the proposed 'Shukrayan' mission, Sivan said work on the project was in progress.

According to ISRO officials, it has selected 20 experimental space-based proposals including France's proposal for its proposed 'Shukrayan' mission. ISRO sources said that it also included the collaborative contributions of Russia, France, Sweden, and Germany. ISRO was earlier planning to send the country's first mission on Venus in June 2023.

An official of the organization said that there was a delay due to the pandemic situation, due to which the mission deadline is being reviewed. He said it could be launched in 2024 or 2026. It was mentioned in this regard that the best opportunity to launch the mission comes every 19 months when the planet Venus is closest to the Earth.