Prasanth Nair

Not to be confused with Prashant Nair or Prashanth Nair.

Prasanth Nair KC
Nair in 2024
Born	(1976-08-26) 26 August 1976 (age 49) Palakkad, Kerala, India
Alma mater	Jawaharlal Nehru University (B.S.) National Defence Academy Indian Air Force Academy Indian Institute of Science (M.S.) Defence Services Staff College Flying Instructors School
Occupations	Astronaut Flight instructor Test pilot
Space career
ISRO astronaut
Selection	1st Gaganyatri Group (2019)
Military career
Allegiance	India
Branch	Indian Air Force
Service years	1998–present [1]
Rank	Group Captain
Service number	25284
Spouse	Lenaa ​ (m. 2024)​

Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair KC is a group captain and flight instructor with the Indian Air Force and gaganyatri (astronaut) with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). In 2019, he was one of the four men identified to be trained for the Gaganyaan mission of the ISRO, part of the Indian human spaceflight programme. He was the back up to Shubhanshu Shukla for the Axiom Mission 4 , a privately organised spaceflight to the International Space Station. In 2026, he was awarded the Kirti Chakra, the second highest peacetime Indian military decoration.

Early and personal life

Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair was born in Nemmara, Palakkad, Kerala on 26 August 1976 to Vilambil Balakrishnan Nair. ^{[2] [3]} He spent a portion of his childhood in Kuwait before his family returned to India after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. He completed his schooling at Chinmaya Vidyalaya in Pallavur. After completing school, he attended the NSS College of Engineering for seven months before he appeared for and cleared the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination. ^[4]

Nair married Indian actress Lenaa in January 2024. ^{[5] [6]}

Defence career

Nair graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1998 and received the 'Sword of Honour' for the best ranking cadet. He was commissioned as a flying officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF) on 19 December 1998. He has over 3,000 flying hours of experience, in aircraft such as Antonov An-32, Dornier Do 228, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, Mikoyan MiG-29, and Sukhoi Su-30 MKI. ^{[7] [8]} He attended the Defence Services Staff College and the Flying Instructors School to become a certified flight instructor in the IAF. ^[9]

Astronaut career

Nair (second from left) at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

In 2019, Nair was shortlisted by the Institute of Aerospace Medicine for the Gaganyaan programme of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He was among four candidates selected for training as a part of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme. ^[10] He trained at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia from 2020 to 2021. ^[11] He later underwent mission-specific training at ISRO's Astronaut Training Facility in Bengaluru and completed a Master of Engineering degree in aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Science. ^[12] On 27 February 2024, ISRO officially introduced Nair as a member of the astronaut team for Gaganyaan-4 , India's planned first human spaceflight mission. ^[13] On 2 August 2024, ISRO announced that Nair would serve as a back up to Shubhanshu Shukla for the Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station (ISS). He and Shukla trained at the NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, for the mission. ^{[14] [15] [16]}

Awards

Nair was decorated with the Kirti Chakra, the second highest peacetime Indian military decoration, in the 2026 Republic Day honours and decorations list. ^[17]

References

1. "Service Record for Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair". Bharat Rakshak . Retrieved 1 June 2025.
2. "Astronaut pick from Kerala's Palakkad is son of engineer; Malayalam actress Lena says they married earlier this month". The Indian Express . 27 February 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
3. Naha, Abdul Latheef (27 February 2024). "Astronaut-designate Prashant Nair brings cheer to his native Nenmara". The Hindu . ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 19 April 2024.
4. "Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair: From Nenmara school's Wall of Excellence to the captain of Gaganyaan Mission". Onmanorama . Retrieved 19 April 2024.
5. "Here's how Lenaa received her marriage proposal with Gaganyaan astronaut Prashant Nair". The Times of India . 29 February 2024. Archived from the original on 31 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
6. "Malayalam actor Lena announces she is married to Gaganyaan astronaut Prasanth Nair". India Today . 28 February 2024. Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
7. "All you need to know about the Gaganyaan astronauts". NDTV . Retrieved 1 June 2025.
8. "Who is Prashanth Nair, the Kerala test pilot on Gaganyaan mission?". Onmanorama . Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
9. "Meet ISRO's 'Gaganyaan' Astronauts: From President's Gold Medalist To IAF Fighter Leader". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
10. Pandey, Geeta (27 February 2024). "Gaganyaan: India names astronauts for maiden space flight". BBC News . Retrieved 27 February 2024.
11. "ISRO's astronaut trainees return after completing training in Russia". The Hindustan Times . 14 March 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
12. Kumar, Chethan. "Nair, Prathap, Krishnan and Chauhan listed for Gaganyaan mission". The Times of India . Retrieved 27 February 2024.
13. "Kerala celebrates as local son Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair gears up for Gaganyaan space mission". The Telegraph . 27 February 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
14. "Indian astronauts to start training for ISS mission". SpaceNews . 2 August 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
15. Foust, Jeff (5 August 2024). "Hungary and Poland to join India on Ax-4". SpaceNews . Retrieved 9 August 2024.
16. "Who is Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the 'prime astronaut' for Indo-US mission to space?". The Indian Express . 3 August 2024. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
17. "77th Republic Day: President approves Gallantry awards to 70 Armed Forces personnel, including six posthumous, also clears military decorations to 301 personnel". Press Information Bureau, Government of India (Press release). 25 January 2026. Retrieved 25 January 2026.