Vyommitra is India’s AI-enabled humanoid designed by ISRO to fly on uncrewed Gaganyaan missions, where it will simulate human presence, test life-support and avionics, and help validate safety for future crewed flights. The half-humanoid will monitor cabin conditions, perform switch-panel operations, respond in Hindi and English, and issue alerts—serving as a crucial bridge between ground testing and human spaceflight readiness.
What is Vyommitra
Vyommitra’s name blends the Sanskrit words “Vyoma” (space) and “Mitra” (friend), reflecting its role as a companion in India’s human spaceflight journey under the Gaganyaan program. It is a half-humanoid with a torso, head, and functional arms designed to operate in microgravity, while legs are present primarily for form rather than locomotion. It was first unveiled publicly in January 2020, signaling ISRO’s intent to employ humanoids instead of animals for realistic human-system testing in orbit.
Mission role in Gaganyaan
Vyommitra will fly on uncrewed Gaganyaan test flights to simulate human interactions with the spacecraft, validate the Environment Control and Life Support System (ECLSS), and gather data on thermal, atmospheric, and structural behavior during ascent, on-orbit operations, and re-entry. The robot will execute checklists, operate six-panel interfaces, and provide real-time status callouts and warnings to mirror astronaut operations. Insights from these flights will directly feed into procedure refinement, emergency protocols, and cockpit human factors for crewed missions.
Key capabilities
• Speech and interaction: Recognizes crew, responds to queries in Hindi and English, and provides procedural callouts and alerts.
• Systems operation: Performs switch-panel operations, interfaces with avionics and life support, and executes predefined test routines.
• Monitoring: Tracks pressure, temperature, humidity, CO2, and other cabin parameters to validate habitability envelopes for astronauts.
• Microgravity tasks: Conducts experiments to study equipment behavior and human-analog responses in orbital conditions.
Engineering design
The platform emphasizes robustness under launch vibration and pressure environments, with an aluminum-alloy dominant structure for strength-to-weight efficiency. Its sensor suite and interface modules are tuned to the crew module’s avionics and ECLSS, enabling realistic end-to-end testing from power-up to splashdown. The human-like form factor supports anthropometric checks for seat ergonomics, restraint systems, and reach envelopes relevant to future crew.
Why a humanoid, not animals or mannequins
A humanoid can execute operational tasks, provide voice feedback, and run procedures in ways mannequins cannot, creating higher-fidelity validation for human-machine interfaces. It also supports ethical and operational goals by replacing animal testing with realistic, repeatable, and telemetrically rich simulations of astronaut activities. This approach accelerates troubleshooting and systems maturation before committing human lives to flight.
Program significance for India
Vyommitra is a visible symbol of India’s integrated progress in robotics, AI, human-rating of launch vehicles, crew module design, and recovery operations. Its flights de-risk crew operations, help benchmark India’s ECLSS performance, and build confidence toward multi-day crewed missions in low Earth orbit. Success with Vyommitra and Gaganyaan positions India among a small group of nations with end-to-end human spaceflight capability and strengthens domestic ecosystems in advanced manufacturing and autonomy.
What to watch next
• Uncrewed orbital test with Vyommitra validating life support, avionics, and parachute-assisted splashdown recovery.
• Human-rating milestones: abort and escape-system demonstrations, parachute and drop tests, and integrated vehicle health monitoring readiness.
• Crew training and procedures: cockpit layout refinements and voice-procedure synchronization informed by Vyommitra’s in-flight data.
Impact on future missions
Data and procedures proven with Vyommitra will carry forward to crewed Gaganyaan flights, enabling longer-duration stays, more complex payload operations, and groundwork for potential space-station participation. The humanoid’s evolution could extend to on-orbit maintenance tasks, telepresence operations, and augmented assistance for astronauts during contingencies.
