Gaganyaan: ISRO Signs MoU With France For Access To Its Space Hospital Facilities

Indian and French space agencies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate for the Gaganyaan mission of ISRO, Deccan Herald has reported. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Centro Nacional de Estudios Espaciales (CNES) signed the agreement which enables India to gain access to France’s space hospital facilities.

CNES president Jean-Yves Le Gall said that the two countries would collaborate in the area of astronaut health monitoring, space medicine, life support, radiation protection, space debris protection and personal hygiene systems.

The Indo-French joint working grouping in the area of space research was announced during the Bengaluru Space Expo launch. In future, Indian astronauts could be trained in specialised facilities such as CADMOS Centre for Development of Microgravity Applications and Space Operations. The agreement also includes the exchange of specialised personnel.

ISRO and CNES have also agreed to collaborate on Mars, Venus and asteroid missions. CNES will learn from ISRO’s progress in the area of crew transport, while the latter will receive insights on France’s spaceflight experience from European Space Agency Astronaut Thomas Pesquet's ‘Proxima’ mission.