International collaboration, aam ras: Group Captain Shukla shares his experience onboard ISS with students

New Delhi [India], July 4 : Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Axiom Mission 4, interacted with students at the UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) in Karnataka on Friday via ham radio.

During the conversation, he shared insights into life aboard the ISS, highlighted the importance of international collaboration in making such space missions possible, described the views of Earth, and recounted moments of cultural exchangeincluding sharing Indian delicacies like aam ras with his fellow crew members.

Speaking from the ISS, Group Captain Shukla highlighted the multifaceted experience of his mission, emphasising the global teamwork that underpins space exploration.

He reflected on the intricate network of global space agencies and their partnerships, noting that these collaborations had enabled such space ventures.

"International collaboration is key for the success of missions like the ISS and space. Even for our mission Axiom 4, agencies like ISRO, NASA, SpaceX, Axiom... everyone is coming together to make this mission happen. And I realised the power of global collaboration for making the mission happen," he said.

The Group Captain also shared his experience in bringing Indian delicacies like the 'aam ras', 'gajar ka halwa' and 'moong daal ka halwa' to the ISS, highlighting the appreciation from his international crewmates for those dishes.

"I was able to bring three different types of food... That was aam ras, gajar ka halwa, and moong daal ka halwa. I must tell you everybody here loved it, and we sat together and shared the food, and they appreciated how good these were," he recounted.

The astronaut also described the space environment and revealed that it was both challenging and exhilarating. He shared his awe-inspiring view of the earth from space, noting that it reminded him of how "fortunate" he was.

"It is hard, as your body needs to adapt to these conditions. The most exciting part of being in space is looking back at Earth from such an advantageous point. It makes you realise how fortunate you are to be on this planet," he added.

Working alongside crew members from the US, Poland and Hungary, Group Captain Shukla described the multinational environment as "very, very exciting".

"Working with people from many different countries and nationalities, the entire experience is very, very exciting," he said, pointing to the diversity and camaraderie aboard the ISS.

However, he also acknowledged the physical demands, particularly the difficulty in resting due to the mission's intensity and the environment they are currently in.

"The most difficult task is to go to sleep because of the excitement all around. As you are here for a short time and you want to do more and more... But you need to take rest," he noted.

This interaction marks a significant moment in India's space journey, as Group Captain Shukla, the second Indian to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma, continues to represent the nation aboard the ISS as the first Indian at the space station.

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, part of Axiom Mission 4, launched on June 25 from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 3:21 am ET on Wednesday, aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.

Group Captain Shukla is serving as Mission Pilot on the four-member Axiom Mission 4 and piloted the Dragon spacecraft, which successfully docked with the ISS on June 26, ahead of schedule, autonomously docking at 4:05 pm (IST) to the space-facing port of the space station's Harmony module.

The Ax-4 crew was welcomed by the seven-member Expedition 73 team at the ISS and took part in a safety briefing.

Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronauts Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary are part of the crew for the Axiom 4 mission. The Ax-4 crew is expected to stay aboard the space station for up to 14 days.

Earlier on Saturday, Group Captain Shukla, during his interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that India looks "very big and grand" from space.

"Jab pehli baar Bharat ko dekha, Bharat sach mein bohat bhavya dikta hain, jitna ham map pe dekhte hain, usse kahin jyada bada (When we saw India for the first time, we saw that India looks very grand, very big, much bigger than what we see on the map)," Group Captain Shukla said.

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