Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) extended greetings on Monday to the people of India ahead of the country’s 80th Independence Day, holding the Indian Tricolour and highlighting the longstanding partnership between the two countries in space exploration.
In a video message, the cosmonauts congratulated India and recalled the decades-long cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi, describing space exploration as a key pillar of bilateral ties.
“Dear friends, today the Republic of India is celebrating its 80th Independence Day,” cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov said, extending wishes for peace and prosperity to the Indian people.
The cosmonauts also linked the Independence Day celebrations with a landmark in human spaceflight, noting that 2026 marks 65 years since Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space.
Gagarin visited India in November 1961 and became an early symbol of the growing friendship between India and the Soviet Union. Recalling his remarks about India, the cosmonauts said the country looked beautiful from space but was even more beautiful on Earth as the home of “true friends”.
India-Russia space cooperation dates back to 1975, when the Soviet Union launched Aryabhata, India’s first satellite. In 1984, Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to travel into space, flying aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz T-11, further strengthening bilateral cooperation in space.
Cosmonaut Anna Kikina said the partnership had entered a new phase with India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme. Indian astronauts, or Gaganyatris, have undergone training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Russia in preparation for India’s first crewed space mission.
The message also highlighted a joint competition organised by Roscosmos, its office in India and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to mark bilateral cooperation in space. Winning entries from the competition were displayed alongside the Independence Day greetings.
“Long live India-Russia friendship,” cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev said while holding the Indian flag aboard the space station.
(ANI Inputs)
