Bangalore: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Sivan on Friday at a news conference in Bangalore announced that India will be launching its first manned space mission, Gaganyaan, in late 2021 and wants woman astronauts to be a part of the mission.

The chief while calling Gaganyaan a turning point for ISRO said that the training for the mission would initially take place in India and then might be moved to Russia (for advanced training).

“The inital training for Gaganyaan will be done in India and advanced training maybe in Russia. Women astronauts will be there on the team. That's our aim,” Sivan said.

Last year, during the Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Gaganyaan mission. "We have resolved that by 2022, when India celebrates 75 years of independence, or maybe even before that, certainly some of our young boys and girls will unfurl the tricolour in space," he said, according to reports.

Gaganyaan is expected to carry three people into space for seven days. If the mission is successful, India could become the fourth country to send a man to space.