EXCLUSIVE: Banijay Asia is planning to ship an Indian citizen into house.
The Banijay Leisure-owned firm has teamed with House Exploration and Analysis Company (SERA) to create a TV format that can showcase a nationwide hunt for one odd Indian who will sit on a future Blue Origin New Shepherd house mission.
“At Banijay Asia, our mission has at all times been to discover new horizons in storytelling,” mentioned Banijay Asia and Endemol Shine India CEO Deepak Dhar. “We’re embarking on an unprecedented journey with SERA to create a actuality format that transcends the odd.”
The format will search to seize the drama, disappointment and pleasure because the shortlisted people take part in challenges to check their mettle and readiness for space travel. It’ll culminate with the number of a winner, who will turn into one of many first Indian residents to journey house.
India was just lately chosen by SERA as a accomplice nation for the group’s spaceflight program geared toward giving common individuals from nations with few or no astronauts the prospect to expertise house. The likes of Elon Musk and Richard Branson have famously developed their very own house rockets and packages within the U.S. and UK, however SERA has targeted on together with creating nations in house exploration.
Prices in house journey have come down, mentioned SERA co-founder Sam Hutchison, which has allowed SERA to function extra democratically than conventional government-owned house organizations. It bought its personal rocket in 2022.
“India has an exceptional house program and it’s dwelling a second: An unimaginable economic system, firms creating new applied sciences and numerous engineering college students and researchers,” mentioned Skurla. He added that the profitable contestant can be required to have interaction in analysis whereas spending the day in house, saying: “We’re searching for ‘India’s Subsequent Astronaut.’”
Skurla mentioned the SERA program had an awesome pure narrative arc, and that Banijay Asia would be capable to creatively unlock the story. “Banijay has deep data of the native market and will help us adapt the challenge,” he added.
“When Josh and Sam began sharing their imaginative and prescient with us, it felt like a typical imaginative and prescient with ours,” mentioned Dhar. “We now have complementary companies: SERA has the infrastructure, wherewithal and processes, and we convey our international studying about codecs. We see this as a mass-based program, and we actually wish to have interaction with India’s 1.4 billion individuals and get them to enroll so we will discover that one Indian who may take that place. It might be of nationwide pleasure to search out them.”
The mission will see six residents from internationally board Blue Origin’s reusable suborbital rocket, New Shepherd. They are going to fly 100km in an 11-minute journey previous the Kármán line, which is the internationally acknowledged boundary of house.
“SERA is based on the precept of constructing house accessible to all. Our mission is to encourage and allow people from all backgrounds to discover the cosmos, fostering a brand new period of discovery and understanding. This partnership with Banijay Asia will convey space- and science-related content material to a various viewers. We stay up for their revolutionary method to remodel this historic endeavor right into a motion that won’t solely encourage thousands and thousands but additionally domesticate a world dialogue on the way forward for house exploration.”
Banijay Asia is already in talks with streamers and networks a couple of pick-up, with the shoot prone to occur within the first half of 2025. Dhar confirmed the format could possibly be tailored by different members of the Banijay Leisure group.
