Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, AC is an Indian astronaut and a former Indian Air Force officer. He flew aboard Soyuz T-11 on 3 April 1984 as part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme. He is the only Indian citizen to travel in space, although there have been other astronauts of Indian origin who travelled to space, who were not Indian citizens. Another Air Force pilot, Ravish Malhotra, was placed on standby.
The Indian Space Research Organisation is India's national space agency. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), overseen by the Prime Minister of India, with the Chairman of ISRO also serving as the chief executive of the DoS. It is primarily responsible for space-based operations, space exploration, international space cooperation and the development of related technologies. The agency maintains a constellation of imaging, communication and remote sensing satellites. It operates the GAGAN and IRNSS satellite navigation systems. It has sent three missions to the Moon and one mission to Mars.
Ottapalam is a town, taluk and municipality in the Palakkad District, Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ottapalam taluk. Ottapalam is located about 34 km (21 mi) from district headquarters Palakkad. Ottapalam is located along the banks of Bharathapuzha, second longest river of the state.
Satish Dhawan Space Centre – SDSC is the primary spaceport of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), located in Sriharikota, Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh.
The Indian Human Spaceflight program is an ongoing programme by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to develop the technology needed to launch crewed orbital spacecraft into low Earth orbit. Three uncrewed flights, named Gaganyaan-1, Gaganyaan-2 and Gaganyaan-3 are scheduled to launch in 2025, followed by crewed flight in 2026 on an HLVM3 rocket.
G. Madhavan Nair is an Indian space scientist and a former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, and Secretary to the Department of Space, Government of India. His tenure saw commencement of Indian Human Spaceflight Programme and launch of extraterrestrial exploration mission Chandrayaan-I.
Gaganyaan is an Indian crewed orbital spacecraft intended to be the formative spacecraft of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme.
Lena Mohan Kumar, known by stage name Lenaa, is an Indian actress, author, and screenwriter who appears predominantly in Malayalam cinema. In a career spanning more than 25 years, Lenaa has worked in over 175 films in five different languages, including blockbusters as well as critically acclaimed films in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam.
Dr.V. R. Lalithambika is an Indian engineer and scientist who has been working with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). She is a specialist in Advanced Launcher Technologies and was leading the Gaganyaan mission to send Indian astronauts to space by 2022.
The Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) is a body under the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to coordinate the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme. The agency will be responsible for implementation of the Gaganyaan project. The first crewed flight is planned for 2024 on a home-grown LVM3 rocket.
Vyommitra is a humanoid robot with appearance of a woman designed for space travel. It was designed at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala and developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to function aboard the spacecraft Gaganyaan, a crewed orbital spacecraft. Vyommitra was first unveiled on 22 January 2020 at the Human Spaceflight and Exploration Symposium in Bengaluru.
Gaganyaan-1 will be the first uncrewed test flight of the Gaganyaan programme, with launch tentatively planned for March 1, 2025.
Bharatiya Antariksha Station, is a planned modular space station to be constructed by India and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The space station would weigh 52 tonnes and maintain an orbit of approximately 400 kilometres above the Earth, where astronauts could stay for 3-6 months. Originally planned to be completed by 2030, it was later postponed to 2035 due to delays caused by technical issues related with the Gaganyaan crewed spaceflight mission and the COVID-19 pandemic in India. As of December 2023, the first module is expected to be launched in 2028 on an LVM3 launch vehicle, with the remaining modules to be launched by 2035 on the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (Soorya).
Events in the year 2024 in Kerala.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is an Indian Air Force test pilot and one of the four astronaut candidates who will fly to space as part of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme.
Gaganyaan-4 will be the first crewed test flight of the Gaganyaan programme, with launch planned for 2026.
Gaganyaan-3 will be the third uncrewed test flight of the Gaganyaan programme, with launch planned in 2025.
Ladakh Human Analogue Mission (LHAM) is a human analog mission by ISRO's Human Space Flight Centre, AAKA Space Studio, University of Ladakh and IIT Bombay in collaboration with the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh. The mission began on 1 November 2024. Mission aims to make suitable interplanetary conditions for astronaut training. This is India's first human analogue mission.
The Kerala School Kalolsavam 2025, also referred to as the Kerala State School Arts Festival 2025, was the 63rd edition of the Kerala School Kalolsavam. It took place from 4 to 8 January in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The festival was inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at Central Stadium. Over 15,000 participants competed in 250 events held across 25 venues.
India 
Indian Air Force 
Group Captain 