France, India to jointly work on India's Gaganyaan mission

New Delhi, April 16: Enhancing the bilateral ties in the space sector, India and France achieve another milestone in the decades-old F space cooperation. Space agencies of India and France inked an agreement for cooperation for the country’s first human space mission Gaganyaan.

 

Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Yves Le Drian announced a new space cooperation agreement with ISRO Indian Space Research Organisation during his visit to the Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC).

 

Under this agreement, France will be contributing to India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight program. With the new agreement, France will be taking part in the great technological and human challenge that is the Gaganyaan program. “The first space agreement between France and India dates back to 1964. Existing partnerships between the two nations cover almost all areas of space activity. ISRO will also be launching the joint Oceansat 3-Argos mission this year. With the new agreement, France will be taking part in the great technological and human challenge that is the Gaganyaan program,” added the release.

 

 

During the meeting, ISRO has asked the French space agency CNES to help prepare for Gaganyaan missions and to serve as its single European contact in this domain. Following this, CNES will train India’s flight physicians and CAPCOM mission control teams in France at the CADMOS center for the development of microgravity applications and space operations at CNES in Toulouse and at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne.

 

 

 

 

The training of astronauts is a critical aspect of the human space mission project. Flight physicians or surgeons are responsible for astronaut's health before, during, and after the flight.

 

The agreement provides for CNES to support the implementation of a scientific experiment plan on validation missions, exchange information on food packaging and the nutrition program, and above all the use by Indian astronauts of French equipment, consumables, and medical instruments.

With this pact, French equipment developed by CNES, tested and still operating aboard the International Space Station (ISS) will thus be made available to Indian crews. CNES will also supply fireproof carry bags made in France to shield equipment from shocks and radiation.

 

“This cooperation could be extended in the future to parabolic flights operated by Novespace to test instruments and for astronaut training, as well as technical support for the construction of an astronaut training center in Bengaluru,” the release said.

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