Prime Minister Narendra Modi met India’s First International Space Station (ISS) astronaut. He met Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Monday at his Lok Kalyan Marg residence. He welcomed the captain with warm hugs and insightful interaction.
An Inspiring Journey
During their discussion, PM Modi highlighted the importance of inspiring and preparing a large pool of astronauts in India. He envisioned having 40 to 50 astronauts ready for future space missions. He emphasized that Shubhanshu Shukla’s journey would inspire children. It shows becoming an astronaut as a realistic and achievable career path in India.
Shubhanshu Shukla agreed. He reflected that today’s children in India don’t just dream about becoming astronauts. They know it is possible and that there is a clear pathway to achieve it. He spoke about the physical and psychological adaptations required in space. He noted the unique challenges the brain faces in adjusting to the new environment, despite bodily strength.
Also read: IAF’s Shubhanshu Shukla becomes 1st Indian to go to Space in over 4 Decades
Interaction with Curious Children
Shukla also recalled how Indian children asked him during his mission how to become astronauts. This underscores the growing interest driven by India’s advancements in space exploration. Modi praised Shukla’s success. He reiterated that this mission is only the beginning. India’s major upcoming ambitions include the Gaganyaan mission, building an Indian space station, and landing Indian astronauts on the Moon.
The Prime Minister expressed confidence that Shukla’s experiences and learnings would be invaluable for these future missions. He has encouraged the youth of India to be inspired. He urged them to be committed to these bold goals. Their conversation strengthened the message that space exploration is now an attainable dream for India’s aspiring astronauts. This dream is supported by strong government backing. It also includes a vision for Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in space technology.
Shubham Presented Indian Flag to PM Modi
During the meeting, Shubham presented the Axiom-4 mission patch to the Prime Minister. He also shared photographs of the Earth taken from the ISS. He gifted Indian flag that he had taken with him during the mission as symbol of respect to PM Modi. Shubham returned to India early Sunday, had received a rousing welcome at the Delhi airport.
After the meeting, PM Modi took to X and posted, “Had a great interaction with Shubhanshu Shukla. We discussed a wide range of subjects. These included his experiences in space and progress in science & technology. We also talked about India’s ambitious Gaganyaan mission. India is proud of his feat.”
Shubham was a part of the 18 days axiom-4 mission. After its successful completion, he was returning to India. He remarked in a post- “As I sit on the plane to come back to India, I have a mix of emotions. Various feelings are running through my heart. I feel sad leaving a fantastic group of people behind. They were my friends and family for the past one year during this mission. I am also excited about meeting all my friends, family and everyone in the country for the first time post mission. I guess this is what life is — everything all at once,” read his post
“Having received incredible love and support from everyone during and after the mission, I can’t wait to come back to India to share my experiences with all of you. Goodbyes are hard, but we need to keep moving in life. As my commander Peggy Whitson fondly says, ‘the only constant in spaceflight is change’. I believe that applies to life as well,” he said.
Vigorous Training of Shubhanshu Shukla
Shubham’s training involved a year of intensive learning in US before being selected for Axiom-4 mission. On 18 days mission with other crew members, he conducted 60 plus experiments aboard the ISS.
During the 18-day mission, he, along with astronauts Peggy Whitson (US), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), and Tibor Kapu (Hungary), conducted 20 outreach sessions aboard the ISS.
For all latest updates Follow theviralmail on X, Facebook, and Instagram
