Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair

Indian Air Force Group Captain and one of the four astronaut-designates for India's Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme; backup crew for Axiom Mission 4.

Portrait of Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair
Photo: Press Information Bureau · GODL-India · source

Contribution

Nair is one of the four Indian Air Force test pilots that ISRO selected and trained to fly on Gaganyaan, India's first human spaceflight programme. On 27 February 2024 the Prime Minister pinned astronaut wings on all four at VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram.

For Axiom Mission 4 in 2025, ISRO named him the backup crew member to Shubhanshu Shukla, and he went through the same intensive training at facilities in several countries.

Career

The four astronaut candidates first did generic spaceflight training in Russia, including survival training in snow, water and steppe, parabolic flights, orbital mechanics and Soyuz systems. They then joined ISRO's Human Space Flight Centre for training specific to Gaganyaan.

Linked missions

  • Gaganyaan: astronaut-designate.
  • Axiom Mission 4 (2025): backup crew.

Sources

  1. PM visits Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala — PIB
  2. Hon'ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi visited VSSC — ISRO
  3. Successful Launch of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-04) with Indian Astronaut and Ax-04 Mission Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla — ISRO
  4. Four Indian astronauts undergoing generic space flight training in Russia as part of Gaganyaan Programme nearing completion — PIB