- India will soon include women astronauts in its Gaganyaan space mission programme
- The first astronaut cohort in 2019 had only male test pilots due to strict selection criteria
- Today, women fighter pilots exist but none have reached test pilot level
India's space odyssey is poised to take a historic leap forward, one that would include the country's daughters among its astronauts. In an exclusive conversation with Air Vice Marshal Anupam Agarwal, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Medical) and a leading space medicine expert, the roadmap for India's inclusive future in space was laid out with clarity and conviction. India will soon get women astronauts as part of Gaganyaan.
The Axiom-4 flight, often referred to as Mission Akash Ganga, has already made headlines with the successful return of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla from the International Space Station.
But this is the beginning of an entire process, one that would include women, civilians, and people from all walks of life.
Why No Women in the First Cohort
The absence of women in the initial astronaut cohort has sparked questions and debate. Air Vice Marshal Agarwal addressed this directly, explaining the constraints faced during the selection process in 2019. "These are unprecedented situations," he said. "When you are building space systems from the ground up, there are many variables that are difficult to fathom at the beginning," he said.
In 2019, the Indian Air Force had only male test pilots. Since the first mission required individuals with highly specialized skills to handle unknown and potentially dangerous scenarios, the selection was limited to test pilots.
"A test pilot is someone you ask to fly an aircraft that's never flown before, he or she will do it at 1000 kilometres an hour, and land it safely," Air Vice Marshal Agarwal explained. "You need such a person when you're making a spacecraft for the first time. You're not sure about the systems inside it."
This skill set, reflexes, adaptability, and the ability to remain calm under pressure, is critical. And in 2019, the pool of qualified candidates with these attributes consisted solely of men. "We didn't have a choice," Air Vice Marshal Agarwal said. "There were no female test pilots in the Indian Armed Forces at that time."
Even today, while there are several women fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force, none have reached the seniority level to qualify as test pilots -- which has very stringent qualifying criteria.
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The American space agency NASA has flown women of Indian origin to space like late Astronaut Kalpana Chawla and Astronaut Sunita Williams, but both were citizens of USA.
A Future That Includes India's Daughters
Despite these initial limitations, the future is bright and inclusive.
Air Vice Marshal Agarwal confirmed that women will soon join the astronaut corps. "ISRO has been very particular that we need to be inclusive," he said. "And the Government of India has emphasized this as well. If I dare to look into the future, we should have women soon," he said.
Speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day in 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also asserted: "We have a dream. Our scientists have a dream. We have resolved... some of our young boys and girls will unfurl the Tricolour in space."
This commitment to inclusion is not just symbolic - it reflects a broader expansion of India's vision for space exploration. Future astronauts may not necessarily be scientists or engineers. They could be civilians, educators, artists, or individuals from other professions, representing the full spectrum of Indian society.
"India's daughter will go to space soon. This is the order of the Indian government. She will come," Air Vice Marshal said.
