The European Space Agency (ESA) announced that Indian astronauts from the Gaganyaan mission will undergo training in Europe. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the primary astronaut, will train with ESA, supported by Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair as his backup for the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission.

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• ESA to train Indian astronauts for the Gaganyaan mission following initial training in Russia.
• Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla named primary astronaut; Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair is the backup for Axiom-4 (Ax-4).
• Ax-4 mission marks India’s first human presence aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
• Shukla and team to spend 14 days on the ISS conducting microgravity experiments.
• Experiments will provide data to support future space missions, including Gaganyaan.
• Gaganyaan mission aims to demonstrate human spaceflight capability, sending three astronauts to a 400 km orbit for three days.
• ESA-ISRO partnership includes ground station support and follows successful Proba-3 satellite launch by India’s PSLV-XL.
• ESA and ISRO signed a Technical Implementation Plan (TIP) for future collaborations.
• Gaganyaan’s first uncrewed test flight scheduled for early March 2025.
• Mission builds on India’s legacy in space exploration, following Rakesh Sharma’s flight in 1984.