Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who returned to Earth in July after completing NASA’s Axiom-4 mission, becoming the first Indian in four decades to travel to space.
During their interaction at the Prime Minister’s residence on Lok Kalyan Marg, PM Modi stressed that India must prepare its cohort of astronauts to meet future demands.
“We need to have a pool of 40–50 astronauts for India’s upcoming space missions,” the Prime Minister told Shukla. He added that the officer’s experience would be invaluable for India’s human spaceflight programme, including the Gaganyaan mission.
The prime minister also inquired about the physical changes after such a long journey in space. Shukla explained, “The environment up there is very different. Once we reach space, we can remove our seat belts and move around inside the capsule. The heart rate slows down, but the body starts adjusting in 3-4 days. But when we return to Earth, the body takes time to readjust. Even though I was healthy, I couldn't walk properly. People had to hold me for support.”
When asked about experiments with moong and methi (fenugreek), Shukla described the challenge of food in space. “Food is a big challenge on a space station; there is less space, and cargo is expensive. You always try to pack as many calories and nutrients as possible in the least space, and experiments are going on in every way. They are very easy to grow and need very few resources, just a little water, and they sprout in only 8 days. These are some of the secrets of our country.”
PM Modi recalled that Shukla was once called a “tag genius” and asked him the reason behind it. Shukla responded, “…When I joined the Air Force, I thought that I would not have to study, but I will have to study a lot after that. And after becoming a test pilot, it becomes a discipline of engineering. So I think we were well prepared, when we reached for this mission...The mission has been successful, we have returned, but this mission is not the end, it is the beginning...”
PM Modi added, “Space station and Gaganyaan. These are our big missions. Your experience will be very useful in that.”
Shukla praised the government’s commitment to space research, even in the face of setbacks. “I think somewhere there is a very big opportunity for us, especially because the kind of commitment our government has made to sustain the space program, budget every year, inspite of failures like Chandrayaan 2. Even after that, we said no, we will move ahead. Chandrayaan 3 was successful. Even after such failures, if we are getting so much support and the whole world is seeing this. We have the capability, so we can acquire a leadership role here. You talked about Atmanirbharta in space manufacturing... So all these things are connected in the same way.”
