Thiruvananthapuram: Thiruvananthapuram: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is in full swing for India's first manned space mission, Gaganyaan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday revealed the names of astronauts selected for the mission., slated for launch in 2025.

Group Captain Prasnath Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla are selected for the manned Gaganyaan mission.

The Prime Minister announced while he was at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram during his two-day visit to the tri-state.

PM Modi said, "I want everyone to give a standing ovation to our astronauts..."

He added, "I am happy that today I got the opportunity to meet these astronauts and present them in front of the country. I want to congratulate them on behalf of the entire country...You are the pride of today's India."

The preparations for India's first manned mission have been going back for years, with the mission's preliminary studies going back to 2006.

S Somnath, the chairman of the space agency also said that astronauts of the Gagayaan mission will be awarded the "wings" or logos for "them to become the chosen astronauts for the manned space mission."

Gaganyaan Mission:

The Gaganyaan meaning 'celestial vehicle,' aims to demonstrate human spaceflight capability by launching a 3-man crew to an orbit of 400 km for a 3-day mission and then bringing them back to earth safely, by landing in Indian sea waters.

The well-known and reliable heavy lifter of ISRO, the LVM3 rocket, is identified as the launch vehicle for the Gaganyaan mission.

Crew Training For Gaganyaan

The four astronauts have undergone extensive training in Russia and are now underway in India at the ISRO training facility.

To train the four astronauts for the mission, ISRO has set up an Astronaut Training Facility in Bengaluru which will include classroom training, physical fitness training, flight suit training, and simulator training.

ISRO's blog read, "Training modules cover academic courses, Gaganyaan Flight Systems, Micro-gravity familiarization through Parabolic Flights, Aero-medical training, Recovery & Survival training, mastering of Flight Procedures and training on Crew Training Simulators. Aeromedical training, Periodical flying practice and Yoga are also included as part of the training