‘Seeing India from space was...’: Shubhanshu Shukla shares his space experience with students

Shubhanshu Shukla on Thursday (Jul 3) interacted with students from Lucknow and Kerala via a video conference from the International Space Station. Shukla is India’s first astronaut to reach space in 40 years and the first Indian to pilot a private mission to the orbital lab. The student interaction comes a week after the Axiom-4 Mission reached the ISS on June 26. Shukla appeared live on the screen as he answered questions from the excited student.

Students bombarded Group Captain Shukla with several questions about life in space: from what astronauts eat and sleep to what happens if someone falls sick in space, and how their bodies adjust. Shukla enthusiastically answered all questions in detail and also shared the benefits of space missions. On fitness, he said, “We stay fit with yoga and regular exercise.” When asked by a student about the view of Earth from space, he responded by saying, “Seeing India from space was an emotional moment.”

The interactive session was held in Shukla’s hometown, Lucknow, at the CMS Auditorium and at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram. Hundreds of students participated in the video conferencing. Shukla, who is part of the Axiom Mission 4, described the launch from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida as “amazing” and “dynamic”.

Describing sleeping arrangements in space, Shukla said, “It is fun actually because in space there is no floor and no ceiling. So if you were to come and visit the station (ISS), you would find someone sleeping on the walls, someone on the ceiling.” He added, “It is so easy to float up and tie yourself to the ceiling. The challenge is to be found at the same place where you slept at night and to ensure that we tie our sleeping bags to ensure we don’t float away to some other place.”

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also interacted with Shubhanshu Shukla via video conferencing. On Wednesday, he completed a week aboard the ISS. He is expected to remain in space for up to 14 days in total and conduct experiments in microgravity.