It was designed at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala and developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to function aboard the spacecraft Gaganyaan, a crewed orbital spacecraft.

Vyommitra was first unveiled on 22 January 2020 at the Human Spaceflight and Exploration Symposium in Bengaluru.

[3] The robot is part of the ISRO's aim to substitute animals with humanoid robots on experimental missions, with the goal of better understanding the effects of prolonged exposure to radiation and microgravity environments on the human body during space travel.

The robot is expected to be aboard uncrewed Gaganyaan missions to conduct experiments in microgravity environments and monitor module parameters.

[7][8][9] It can handle environment control and life support systems,[5] perform switch panel operations, and give environmental air pressure change warnings.