Is This Rocket, Gaganyaan? An edited video shows an Indian man and woman flying over the sky while laughing

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the historic decision to send Indians into space six years ago. He has just revealed to the country, in secret for the last four years, the four chosen astronaut-designates who have been going through intense preparation for the Gaganyaan mission.

These four candidates—all distinguished Indian Air Force officers, Group Captains Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Angad Pratap, Ajit Krishnan, and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla—are ready to carry on the legendary legacy of Rakesh Sharma, the first and only Indian to travel into space in 1984 on a Russian spacecraft. But it seems that they are not the only ones with aspirational goals!

You did really hear it right? There is a video floating around the internet that shows a guy and a lady, in a humorous and enjoyable way, taking off into the sky on a rocket. In this footage, a little child sets fire to an enormous rocket that looks like one of those used in celebratory fireworks shows, sending a Desi couple upward. The pair sitting atop the expended rocket as it elegantly soars into the sky is then seen in the scene. And wait till you see what they’re wearing! Just Indian clothing, no uniform.

This wonderfully manipulated video has, of course, made people giggle all over the internet.

“Mission ka prototype gaganyaan,” a user on “X” joked. “Science ka ek behtareen ajooba,” said another. “Will you return now?” the third said in a playful manner.

Setting aside the jokes, top officials of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have said that in order to guarantee the astronauts’ safe recovery and rescue during the return flight, the organization has painstakingly selected 48 backup landing locations worldwide. Although the ideal situation would be for the Gaganyaan module to land in the Arabian Sea, where Indian authorities would be ready to carry out the rescue, the space agency has also identified backup locations in international seas in case the main plan has to be altered.

Every mission has a best-case scenario as well as backup measures in case it is not realized. If everything goes according to plan for the Gaganyaan mission, we should be able to land the module in the Indian Ocean, said a senior ISRO officer involved in the project.

The space agency had originally identified two possible landing locations in Indian waters: the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. However, the choice was made to finalize the landing location in the Arabian Sea because of the choppy waves and unpredictability of the Bay of Bengal.