As of 19 July 2026, the “Mission Mitra” was in the news. What does it refer to?

Mission MITRA is a high-altitude spaceflight analog study conducted at Leh for India's human-spaceflight programme. ISRO uses the environment's low oxygen, cold and isolation to study crew performance, stress and cooperation with ground teams. The findings support Gaganyaan and future long-duration missions; it is not a satellite launch, a conventional military drill or an ESA cave experiment.