An ISRO official said that once the COVID-19 situation subsides, the Indian space surgeons will also go to France next year

Indian and French space agencies are in discussions for providing necessary equipment, which would be similar to the one used for Mission Alpha, to Gaganyaan, the Indian mission to send humans into outer space.

A senior official of the Nation Center for Space Studies (CNES), the French space agency, was quoted by the Hindustan Times saying that work on the equipment for Mission Alpha is on. The CNES official said discussions are in the final stage. “Work on the instrumentation for Mission Alpha is on.”

As per the report, the name Alpha was chosen for French astronaut Thomas Pesquet’s new mission after a competition organized by the European Space Agency in partnership with CNES attracted over 27,000 entries.

The report highlighted that India-France share a robust collaboration in the area of space. Their respective space agencies are also in partnership for the Rs 10,000 crore Gaganyaan mission that would be sending three Indians to outer space by 2022. France also has a well-established mechanism for space medicine.

An ISRO official confirmed that once the COVID-19 situation subsides, the Indian space surgeons will also go to France next year. The report also pointed out that four pilots of the Indian Air Force and prospective astronauts for the Gagangyaan Mission are undergoing training in Russia.

Thomas Pesquet, French astronaut, will be returning to the International Space Station while flying on the Crew Dragon spacecraft in early 2021. He is currently training with Crew Dragon spacecraft and station simulators for Mission Alpha, said the report.