India’s second astronaut joins ISS
(MENAFN) Shubhanshu Shukla has made history as the second Indian to travel into space and the first in over four decades, following the successful docking of SpaceX’s Axiom Mission 4 at the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday. The mission, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a series of delays, marks India's return to human spaceflight since Rakesh Sharma's journey aboard a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in 1984.
An officer in the Indian Air Force, Shukla was chosen by the Indian Department of Space to represent the country on this groundbreaking mission. He underwent intensive training in Russia at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in 2020, along with three other astronaut candidates.
During a livestream from space, Shukla greeted viewers with a traditional “namaskar” and described his adaptation to space life. “Apparently I’m sleeping a lot, which means I’m adjusting well,” he joked. He shared his experiences of learning how to walk and eat in microgravity, likening it to being a baby. “Making mistakes is part of the process, but it’s helpful to see others make them too,” he added.
While aboard the ISS, Shukla will participate in scientific experiments focusing on tardigrades—tiny, resilient organisms—to study their adaptation to microgravity. Additional research will include muscle regeneration, plant growth, survival of small aquatic life forms, and human interaction with digital interfaces in space. He will also explore how microgravity and space radiation affect microalgae, considered a potential food source for future deep-space missions.
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