'Bharat Aaj Bhi...': Shubhanshu Shukla Shares Experience Of Axiom-4, Talks About India's Gaganyaan Mission; VIDEO

New Delhi: Indian Astronaut Group Captain Shubhanswhu Shukla on Thursday shared his experience of Axiom Mission-4 to the International Space Station (ISS). During a joint press briefing with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief Dr V Narayanan, the Indian Air Force (IAF) officer said that his experience to the ISS will help in India's ambitious 'Gaganyaan' Mission.

Group Captain Shukla said that the experience of spaceflight was different from ground training. He said that India still looks beautiful from Space. "Bharat aaj bhi Antariksh se saare jahaan se achha dikhta hai. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat," the Indian astronaut said.

He also thanked the Indian government, ISRO, and researchers for making the Axiom-4 Mission possible

" I want to thank the Indian Government, ISRO, and my colleagues... We were flying on top of the Falcon 9 Vehicle... Crew Dragon is one of the three vehicles that can take humans to space," the IAF pilot said.

"My profile in this mission was the mission pilot. There are four seats in the Crew Dragon. I was the mission pilot, and I had to work with the commander and interact with the systems of the Crew Dragon... We had to perform the experiments that were conceived, developed, and realised by the Indian researchers. And also to perform STEM demonstrations, capture photos and videographs," he added.

Talking about how the experience of the Axiom-4 could be used for Gaganyaan, Grp Cpt Shukla said, "The benefit of executing a human space mission is more than the training. The supplementary knowledge we get just by being there is invaluable. All the information I have collected in the past year will be extremely useful to us for our own missions, Gaganyaan and Bharatiya Antariksh Station."

The Indian astronaut stated that soon India would send someone into Space from its soil and its own rocket.

"Very soon we shall send someone from our capsule, from our rocket and our soil... The experience is very different from what you learn on the ground. The body goes through a lot of changes... The body forgets how to live in gravity after spending 20 days in space," he said.

Notably, Axiom-4 proved to be a great milestone for India's space journey with Group Captain Shukla's participation. The IAF officer was part of the Axiom-4 private space mission that lifted off from Florida on June 25 and docked at the International Space Station on June 26. He returned to Earth on 15 July.

Along with three other astronauts -- Peggy Whitson (US), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), and Tibor Kapu (Hungary) -- he conducted over 60 experiments and 20 outreach sessions during the 18-day mission.

He also became the first India to travel to ISS and the second, after Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma, to travel to Space

Published on: Thursday, August 21, 2025, 01:58 PM IST