--- title: "India Wants to Send This Legless Humanoid Robot Into Space" description: "The Indian Space Research Organization has unveiled a legless \"half-humanoid\" robot called \"Voymmitra\" it wants to send into space on an uncrewed mission." date: "2020-01-23" modified: "2020-01-23" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/india-legless-humanoid-robot-space" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "humanoid robot" - "india" - "ISRO" - "the digest" --- # India Wants to Send This Legless Humanoid Robot Into Space ![The Indian Space Research Organization has unveiled a legless "half-humanoid" robot called "Voymmitra" it wants to send into space on an uncrewed mission.]() *\Image: Nagarjun Dwarakanath via Twitter\* ## Meet Vyommitra The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has unveiled a legless robot called "Voymmitra" that it wants to send into space on an uncrewed mission later this year. The eerily humanoid robot can reportedly speak two languages, [according to *Business Insider*](). "Vyommitra will simulate human functions, will interact with the environmental control and life-support system," ISRO chairman K Sivan [told the *Times of India*](). "Our robot is like a human, and will be able to do what man can do, although not as extensively," Sivan added. https://twitter.com/nagarjund/status/1219880444130361345 ## Gaganyaan 2022 The humanoid will be launched on the first uncrewed test flight of India's planned Gaganyaan crewed orbital spacecraft. "I can be a companion of the astronauts, recognize them and respond to their queries," Vyommitra can be heard saying in [a clip]() uploaded to Twitter. But its own movement will be limited. "It's called a half humanoid because it doesn't have legs," ISRO scientist Sam Dayal [told *India Today*](). "It can only bend side wards and forward." ## The Humanoids The mission is part of India's greater ambitions to send Indian astronauts to space by 2022 — if all goes according to plan — first [announced]() by prime minister Narendra Modi in 2018. It wouldn't be the first time a nation has sent a humanoid robot into space. Russia [sent]() its gunslinging humanoid robot [FEDOR]() to the International Space Station in August. **READ MORE:** [Meet Vyommitra, the legless female humanoid robot India's sending to space]() \[*CNET*\] **More on humanoid robots in space:** *[Russia’s Working on a Lunar Rover With a Humanoid Torso]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()