Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair

Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair is an Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot and astronaut. He is the recipient of the Sword of Honour award at the Hyderabad Air Force Academy and name done of the four astronauts designated for the Indian Space Research Organisation's(ISRO) Gaganyaan mission, India's inaugural human space flight mission.

Nair was born on August 26, 1976, in Thiruvazhiyad, Kerala, India. He studied at the National Defence Academy and was commissioned into the IAF fighter wing in December 1998. He is an IAF test pilot and flight instructor who has approximately 3,000 hours of flight experience covering a diverse range of aircraft, including theadvanced Su-30 MKI, Jaguar, MiG-21, MiG-29, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32. He served as Commanding Officer of a Su-30 squadron and graduated top of his class from the US Air Force Air Command and Staff College in Alabama.

In 2019, Nair was selected by ISRO for training at Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Moscow, Russia and trained there for 1 year. On February 27, 2024, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed Nair as one of four astronauts undergoing training for India's first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan.

Nairis honored and excited for the opportunity to be a part of the historic Axiom Mission 4 as backup pilot.

Ad astra.