Former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair has advocated India seek American or Russian support for astronaut training and space-environment simulation facilities to carry out the manned mission within the 2022 time frame. India setting up its own training and simulation facilities would take a lot of time, the veteran space scientist opined.

Nair hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement on the manned mission during his Independence Day address, terming it as a logical next step for India's space programme.