A gaganyatri says namaste
Easy
India’s astronauts are called gaganyatris, which means sky travellers.
- Gaganyatris train for years before they fly.
- Their spacesuits keep them safe, warm and able to breathe.
🧑🚀 10 pages
Astronauts colouring pages
Gaganyatris, spacewalks and life in orbit.
Spacewalk above Earth
Medium
On a spacewalk, astronauts float outside their spacecraft, safely clipped on with a tether.
- A spacewalk can last more than six hours.
- Astronauts practise spacewalks underwater in giant pools.
Yoga in space
Medium
In 1984 Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian in space. He even practised yoga while floating!
- He spent almost eight days in orbit.
- Asked how India looked from space, he said “Saare Jahan Se Achha”.
Growing sprouts in orbit
Medium
In 2025 Shubhanshu Shukla became the first Indian aboard the International Space Station, where he grew tiny sprouts.
- He did experiments on seeds such as moong and methi.
- He is also training to fly on Gaganyaan.
Vyommitra the robot
Easy
Vyommitra is a humanoid robot that will fly on Gaganyaan’s test flights before the astronauts do.
- Vyom means space and mitra means friend.
- She can talk and check the spacecraft’s controls.
The Gaganyaan crew
Tricky
A Gaganyaan crew of up to three gaganyatris will orbit Earth in an Indian spacecraft.
- They train in India and around the world.
- They learn to fly, swim, survive in forests and do science.
Kalpana Chawla, space pioneer
Medium
Kalpana Chawla grew up in Karnal, Haryana, and in 1997 became the first woman of Indian origin to go to space.
- She flew on NASA’s space shuttle.
- She loved flying aeroplanes and studied aerospace engineering.
Sunita Williams on a spacewalk
Medium
Sunita Williams is a NASA astronaut with Indian roots. She has done many spacewalks outside the space station.
- She has spent more than a year of her life in space.
- She once ran a marathon on a treadmill in orbit.
Hello from space!
Easy
Astronauts wear helmets with golden visors that protect their eyes from bright sunlight.
- The visor is coated with a thin layer of real gold.
- Space suits have their own air supply in the backpack.
Spacewalk
Medium
An astronaut floats outside, held safely by a tether.