With a focus on global interest, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla highlight the importance of his ISS experience for India’s next Gaganyaan mission.
He expressed his joy with India’s beauty from orbit and advised young people to follow their goals.
Gaganyaan Gains Global Attention
After returning from the Axiom-4 trip to the International Space Station (ISS), Indian astronaut and IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla called his stay in space an “invaluable experience” that surpassed any preparation he had received on Earth.
During a press conference, the astronaut—who became the first Indian to fly to the International Space Station—spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi about life in microgravity, the value of hands-on experience, and International interest in Gaganyaan, India’s next step into human space exploration
Also Read: PM Modi to Flag Off 2 Trains from Gaya on Aug 22
ISS Experience Exceeds Training
Shukla told reporters that even if ground training and simulations are thorough, they are unable to accurately capture the reality of spaceflight.
“Any training is much inferior to first-hand experience from the ISS expedition,” he said. “Once you are in space, you realize the difficulties and the beauty of it—living with a multinational team, adapting to microgravity, and doing experiments.”
Gaganyaan Mission Benefits
- First Indian in Space: Planned launch by 2027.
- Better Training: ISS experience improves astronaut readiness.
- Global Interest: Gaganyaan attracts international attention.
- Youth Inspiration: Encourages young Indians to pursue space careers.
- Patriotic Pride: India looks amazing from space: “Jai Bharat, Jai Hind!”
Gaganyaan mission profit for India
Under the Gaganyaan program, India plans to send its first person into space in 2027. Shubhanshu Shukla continues that his ISS experiences Would impact the training schedules along with Gaganyaan mission availability of next Indian astronauts.
In the last year, I have gained a great deal of information that will help us improve the effectiveness of our missions,” he stated.
Prime Minister Modi agreed, stating that Shubhanshu Shukla’s trip was “the first step” in India’s long-term space goals, which include sending an Indian astronaut to the moon by 2040 and establishing its own space station by 2035.
Shukla told Prime Minister Modi what?
Shubhanshu Shukla told the Prime Minister during their meeting that India’s aspirations for human spaceflight are of great interest to people throughout the world.
He said, “A lot of my crewmates on Axiom-4 were interested in learning about the Gaganyaan launch.” Some even requested that I sign statements guaranteeing that they would get invitations to the launch. They wanted to ride in our car.
In response, the Prime Minister highlight the need of assembling a strong team of 40–50 specialists to assist India’s upcoming missions.
What was Shukla’s message to the kids?
Shubhanshu Shukla took advantage of the event to encourage young Indians to pursue space travel. I never imagined I would reach here and travel to space.” “We have to proceed with one mission after another, starting with Gaganyaan and continuing with the Bharatiya Antariksh Station and several others.”
Shubhanshu Shukla reflected on his perspective of Earth from orbit before concluding on a very patriotic note:
“Bharat aaj bhi antariksh se saare jahan se accha dikhta hai while ascending, while in orbit, and while returning. “Jai Bharat, Jai Hind!”