Thiruvananthapuram, June 10 -- As Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to become the second Indian to travel to space, former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan called the Axiom-4 mission a prelude to ISRO's Gaganyan project.

Speaking to ANI on Tuesday, Narayanan said, "We trained four astronauts for the past one year for the zero gravity experience and other various rigorous trainings. After the training, they were waiting for our mission, Gaganyaan, which is scheduled to lift off in 2027. What we are doing now is a prelude to the Gaganyan project, and in this project, we are getting exposure to how to handle a situation like this. What are all the experiences of going through a manned mission?"

He added that there are a lot of differenc...