Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, one of India's newest space explorers, recently shared the profound and transformative experience of his journey to the International Space Station (ISS) with a captivated audience at the India Science Festival held at IISER Pune. His account, filled with personal anecdotes and stunning insights, offered a rare glimpse into life beyond Earth and marked a significant moment in India's spacefaring history.
From Emails to Zero-G: The Mind-Bending Return to Earth
The reality of gravity hit home for Shukla in a surprisingly mundane way shortly after his return. On his first evening back on Earth, while catching up on a backlog of emails, he casually pushed his laptop aside only to watch it fall. "That's when I realised how powerful the human mind is. It adapts to its surroundings. Space doesn't just transform the body. It rewires perception," he explained to the spellbound gathering of children, teenagers, and adults. This simple incident underscored the profound psychological adaptation required for space travel.
Shukla's mission was historic, representing India's return to human spaceflight after a gap of 41 years since Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma's iconic flight in 1984. Commissioned into the Indian Air Force in 2006, Shukla comes from a modest background, making his ascent to the stars a powerful testament to dedication and opportunity. He confidently assured the audience, "The next time won't take as long. We will launch from India, on an Indian rocket, in an Indian capsule and bring our astronaut back safely."
A Daily Spectacle: Earth's Beauty from Orbit
The audience was treated to a visual feast as Shukla showed breathtaking images captured from the ISS. He described the Earth's curved horizon glowing with a green hue due to oxygen atoms in the upper atmosphere, the brilliantly illuminated outline of India coming into view, and the majestic sweep of the Himalayan range. Other wonders included flashes of purple lightning storms, a star-filled sky unobscured by city lights, and the radiant blue of a sunrise in space.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked. "Now imagine seeing this view 16 times every day. It changes how you look at everything," he remarked, highlighting the orbital perspective that few humans ever witness.
The Physical Toll and Triumph of Spaceflight
Shukla vividly recounted the launch, an experience that shattered all his preconceived notions. "The moment the engines ignited, everything I thought I knew disappeared. The vibration was so intense that every bone in the body shook. In just eight-and-a-half minutes, we went from zero to 28,500km per hour," he said. He described the extreme G-forces that make inhalation impossible, forcing astronauts to exhale and breathe using their stomach muscles—a skill honed through years of rigorous training.
The sudden cutoff of engines ushered in microgravity and silence. "Your body lifts off the seat. Hands and legs float. We release a small toy to confirm weightlessness. That moment tells you. You're in space," he recalled. His body underwent dramatic changes: fluids shifted towards his head causing facial swelling, his movements slowed, muscles weakened, appetite diminished, and his spine elongated, making him temporarily 6cm taller.
Adapting mentally was equally challenging. On his first day, he found himself stuck because another astronaut was conducting an experiment in the middle of a module. "I didn't realise I could simply walk on the ceiling. That was the moment my mind truly understood space," he admitted. Despite the physical demands, Shukla found an unexpected sense of calm in space, even briefly wishing he didn't have to return.
The re-entry and return to Earth's gravity were just as demanding. His body, accustomed to weightlessness, had forgotten the effort required to stand upright. Walking became a difficult task, requiring days of dedicated rehabilitation before he could resume normal activities.
Dreaming Audaciously: India's Cosmic Future
Shukla framed his mission as merely the opening chapter for India's human spaceflight ambitions. He outlined the roadmap ahead, including the Gaganyaan missions, plans for an Indian space station, and the targeted goal of a human landing on the Moon by 2040.
He concluded with an inspiring message, directly addressing the young minds in the hall: "Who knows, one of you sitting here today could be the first Indian to walk on the Moon. So dream big. Dream audaciously. Because the sky was never the limit, not for me, not for you and not for India." His words were met with thunderous applause, echoing the renewed spirit of India's cosmic aspirations.
