Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Saturday, who is aboard the International Space Station. Mr Modi said, you are farthest from India but closest to Indians’ heart and your journey marks the auspicious beginning of a new era. He said, Parikrama has been a centuries-old tradition in India, and you have been blessed with the rare opportunity to perform the parikrama of Mother Earth. Mr Modi extended his heartfelt congratulations and wished Captain Shukla for his mission.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla said that he is feeling proud to represent India. Sharing his experiences, with Prime Minister Modi, Captain Shukla said, when he was a child, he never imagined that he could become an astronaut. Captain Shukla said, under leadership the Prime Minister today’s India offers numerous opportunities to people of India to fulfil their dreams.
Highlighting that Shubhanshu Shukla was the first Indian to be on board the International Space Station, the Prime Minister Modi enquired him about the contrast between his rigorous preparation on Earth and the actual conditions aboard the space station. The Astronaut shared that despite knowing about zero gravity and the nature of experiments in advance, the reality in orbit was entirely different. Captain Shukla added that simple acts like drinking water or sleeping become significant challenges in space.
Captain Shukla said, he has learnt a lot during his training saying that his journey is a collective achievement for the entire country. He asked youths that sky is never the limit. He said, India is progressing at a swift pace and it will have its own stations in space. Captain Shukla said, when he saw India for the first time from space, India looks very grand and much bigger than what we see on the map.
Prime Minister Modi asked whether any of the space experiments being conducted will benefit the agriculture or health sector in the future. Shubhanshu Shukla shared that, for the first time, Indian scientists have designed seven unique experiments which he has taken to the space station. He informed that the first experiment, focuses on stem cells and explained that in the absence of gravity, the body experiences muscle loss. He highlighted that the outcome of this study could directly help elderly people on Earth who face age-related muscle degeneration. Shubhanshu underlined that one major advantage of conducting experiments in space is the accelerated pace of biological processes, enabling researchers to obtain results much faster than on Earth.
On Wednesday, Axiom-4 mission, carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla was launched from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, United States. Captain Shukla is the second Indian astronaut, who has travelled to space, four decades after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma made the cosmic journey as part of a Soviet mission in 1984.
