ISRO launches Mission MITRA for safety of human spaceflight mission crew

By R Anil Kumar

• ISRO is conducting mission MITRA in Leh from April 2 to 9. This team behavioural study is a first for human spaceflight missions like Gaganyaan. It examined crew and ground teams in a high-altitude environment. The mission aimed to understand team dynamics and decision-making under stress

Bengaluru. ISRO on April 3, 2026 said it has undertaken mission MITRA in Leh, Union Territory of Ladakh, from April 2 to 9, a first-of-its-kind team behavioural study for the benefit of human spaceflight missions such as Gaganyaan.

The mission, inaugurated by the ISRO chairman V Narayanan, was mainly for the crew safety and performance.

“Mission MITRA is a first-of-its-kind team behavioural study designed by ISRO and IAF-Institute of Aerospace Medicine to examine the physiological, psychological, and operational dynamics of Crew and ground teams functioning in a high-altitude environment,” ISRO said in a statement.

This study is targeted to generate vital understanding on the team interoperability between crew (Gaganyatris) and ground control teams and the effectiveness of decision making under environmental & operational stress, the space agency said.

Noting that the crew safety and performance are the most critical elements of all Human Spaceflight Missions, ISRO said the ability of the crew to communicate effectively, adapt to stress, maintain psychological resilience and support one another determines the success and safety of any mission.

Analogue missions conducted under controlled yet realistic conditions are utilised to understand how crews perform under challenging conditions, it added.

The space agency said the high altitude of approximately 3,500 meters at Leh having the environmental conditions of hypoxia, low temperature, and isolation, is a natural analogue for spaceflight operations.