Vyommitra


Vyommitra is a female-looking spacefaring humanoid robot being developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation to function on-board the Gaganyaan, a crewed orbital spacecraft. Vyommitra was first unveiled on 22 January 2020 at the Human Spaceflight and Exploration symposium in Bengaluru.
It will accompany Indian astronauts in space missions and will also be a part of uncrewed experimental Gaganyaan missions prior to the crewed spaceflight missions.

Objectives and abilities

India aims not to fly animals onboard experimental missions unlike other nations that have carried out human space flight. Instead, it will fly humanoid robots for a better understanding of what weightlessness and radiation do to the human body during long durations in space.
Vyommitra is expected to be onboard uncrewed Gaganyaan missions to microgravity experiments and support astronauts in crewed missions. It is programmed to speak Hindi and English and perform multiple tasks. It can mimic human activity, recognise other humans, and respond to their queries. Technically, it can perform environment control and life support systems functions, handle switch panel operations, and give environmental air pressure change warnings.

Launch

The humanoid robot is expected to go on two uncrewed spaceflights, the first one scheduled for December 2020.