Gaganyaan and Artemis-II:
The year 2026 is expected to be a defining moment for global space exploration. India and the United States are preparing two major human spaceflight missions. While India’s Gaganyaan will test indigenous crewed spaceflight systems, NASA’s Artemis-II will take humans beyond the Moon after more than five decades, shaping the future of space travel.India’s Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are preparing for historic missions in 2026. ISRO’s uncrewed Gaganyaan G1 mission and NASA’s Artemis-II mission are expected to lay the technological foundation for future human missions to space and deep space.The Gaganyaan programme aims to establish India’s independent capability to send humans into space and bring them back safely.The first uncrewed orbital test mission, G1, is tentatively planned for March 2026.It will be launched aboard the LVM3 (Gaganyaan-Mk3) rocket, which has been human-rated for astronaut safety.
