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Astronaut 634 Shubhanshu Shukla: Shux blends science, sweets and space
Shine Jacob Chennai
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The name 'Shux'. Orbital flight number 634. Sleeping quarters: Dragon. And on the menu: Gajar ka halwa, moong dal halwa, and aam ras. These personal details, both technical and cultural, could soon take their place in history books as symbols of India's return to human spaceflight, after a 41-year break.
Orbiting some 400 kilometres above Earth's surface at a speed of 8 kilometres per second, completing 16 orbits a day, Shubhanshu Shukla — 'Shux' to his crewmates — is now firmly embedded in the rhythms of life aboard the International Space Station (ISS). His first seven days on the Axiom
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Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Shubhanshu Shukla says excitement to do more experiments posing difficulty to fall asleep
Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to reach the International Space Station (ISS), Friday spoke with Indian students during his first ham radio interaction from onboard the space laboratory. 'The most difficult task is to go to sleep, because of the excitement and wanting to do more and more experiments…,' he said. 'I am doing a lot of experiments and these are challenging and exciting. All of these experiments have been planned by ISRO-NASA. But there are a few that I particularly like, especially the one on stem cells. We know there is limited time (onboard the ISS) but we want to do more and more (experiments). But we need to get rest to do the experiments,' said Shukla, along with demonstrating maneuvers and space-moves to be done to get tasks done. He also showed students his sleeping bag. Shukla was live on ham radio for less than ten minutes when the ISS was passing close to the horizon around 3.47pm on Friday, July 4. The ham radio communication was made to the UR Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru via telebridge (partly phone-partly ham connection), with the ground station located in Greenbelt, Maryland, US. Shukla was given a set of select questions prepared by students from all over India, who were shortlisted under three categories. Nearly 145 students joined live from Thiruvananthapuram and a similar number connected from Lucknow and Bengaluru. As the ISS orbits the Earth at an average speed of over 27,000 km/hr making 16 orbits/day, the best possible bandwidth for establishing ham radio communication generally lasts for just five to eight minutes. Shukla's voice was filled with excitement as he took on the questions and gave quick, short answers each ending with 'over' — hinting at the next question he was proceeding to take up. Shukla spoke about the ride onboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon on June 25, the tiny capsule, the accelerating speeds and the one-and-a-half days of 'floating' in space till docking at the ISS and how his body faced hardships in adapting to the new conditions in space. The Axiom-4 mission is led by NASA, in partnership with ISRO and the European Space Agency. On the role of this international collaboration, Shukla said: ' I think international collaboration is the key for the success of a mission to the ISS and space. Even for our mission, Axiom-4, ISRO, NASA and ESA… everyone came together to make this mission happen. I have realised the power of global collaboration. Working with many people of different nationalities is an entirely exciting experience. So definitely, global collaboration is the key and I look forward to more such missions.' Indian food also touched 'new heights' with Shukla's Ax-4. He is carrying with him three delicacies – aamaras, moong dal halwa, and gajar halwa. 'These foods were prepared by ISRO in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (ISRO). I shared these foods with everybody and they loved and appreciated it.' The Earth's view from space, Shukla said, was the most beautiful one from onboard the ISS. 'The most exciting part about being in space is looking back at earth from the vantage point. It is big, very beautiful and reminded me of how fortunate we are to be on this planet. It is also a realisation of how important this planet is with everything we have.' Shukla will make the second and final communication using ham radio at 2.08pm on July 8 with the Human Spaceflight Center at the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) in Meghalaya.
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Exciting to see Earth from vantage point of ISS: Shubhanshu Shukla
Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla on Friday (July 4, 2025) said he and fellow astronauts on the International Space Station relished 'aam ras', 'gajar ka halwa', 'moong dal halwa' and delicacies from other countries as he completed a week on board the orbital lab. Group Captain Shukla, who docked at the ISS on June 26 as part of the Axiom-4 mission, completed a week on the ISS and got a day off, which he spent connecting with family and friends back on Earth. The Axiom-4 (Ax-4) crew, which includes Group Captain Shukla and three other astronauts, completed 113 orbits around the Earth by the end of July 3, clocking over 4.66 million km, which is equivalent to nearly 12 times the distance between the Earth and the moon. 'It was a good moment. We got food from different countries and got to share it with all the crew,' Group Captain Shukla, who has the call sign 'Shux', said in a brief interaction with scientists at the URSC, Bengaluru over HAM radio connection. On Thursday (July 3, 2025), Group Captain Shukla also became the Indian astronaut with the longest stay in space, surpassing the record of his mentor Rakesh Sharma, who spent seven days, 21 hours and 40 minutes in space as part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme in 1984. As of Thursday (July 3, 2025), Shukla has spent nine days in space. He said the most exciting part of the mission was looking back at Earth from the vantage point of the International Space Station. Group Captain Shukla said working with people from different countries too was an exciting experience. Sharing his experience of the launch from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, Group Captain Shukla said, 'The rocket launch was very dynamic; it was very fast. As you go higher, you go faster and the accelerations were quite high.' The Axiom-4 mission has veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson as commander, Shukla as pilot, and Polish astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu as mission specialists. An Axiom Space statement said that in just seven days, the Ax-4 astronauts have already made significant contributions to scientific research. 'Peggy has been involved in cancer research using microgravity to study how tumour cells behave in space, work that is helping develop new therapeutic targets for metastatic cancers,' the Axiom Space statement said. 'Shux has been conducting experiments that explore how microgravity affects the growth and genetic behaviour of algae and how tardigrades, hardy microscopic creatures, survive and reproduce in space,' it said. The findings of the experiments conducted by Group Captain Shukla could reveal new insights into the molecular mechanisms of cellular resilience, which could translate into clinically relevant knowledge on Earth. 'A proud moment for India as our Indian Air Force officer becomes the first Indian military astronaut to board the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Axiom Mission 4: First Indian in space after 40 years, Leading seven India-specific scientific experiments, representing India in over 60 global studies on Biology, Earth science & Material science,' Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said in a post on X. A proud moment for India as our Indian Air Force officer becomes the first Indian military astronaut to board the #InternationalSpaceStation (ISS) as part of #AxiomMission4: - First Indian in space after 40 years - Leading 7 India-specific scientific experiments - Representing… — Dr Jitendra Singh (@DrJitendraSingh) July 4, 2025 'This milestone marks the resurgence of India's human spaceflight journey under the visionary leadership of Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi,' Mr. Singh said. During his amateur radio interaction, Group Captain Shukla said global collaboration was the key to the success of a mission like the International Space Station. 'Agencies like NASA, ISRO, SpaceX, Axiom, ESA, JAXA, everyone is coming together to make this mission successful. I realise the power of global collaboration for making such missions happen. So, definitely global collaboration is the key,' Group Captain Shukla said. Shukla is on a 14-day mission to the International Space Station as part of a joint ISRO-NASA project.
India Gazette
2 hours ago
- India Gazette
International collaboration, aam ras: Group Captain Shukla shares his experience onboard ISS with students
New Delhi [India], July 4 (ANI): Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Axiom Mission 4, interacted with students at the UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) in Karnataka on Friday via ham radio. During the conversation, he shared insights into life aboard the ISS, highlighted the importance of international collaboration in making such space missions possible, described the views of Earth, and recounted moments of cultural exchange--including sharing Indian delicacies like aam ras with his fellow crew members. Speaking from the ISS, Group Captain Shukla highlighted the multifaceted experience of his mission, emphasising the global teamwork that underpins space exploration. He reflected on the intricate network of global space agencies and their partnerships, noting that these collaborations had enabled such space ventures. 'International collaboration is key for the success of missions like the ISS and space. Even for our mission Axiom 4, agencies like ISRO, NASA, SpaceX, Axiom... everyone is coming together to make this mission happen. And I realised the power of global collaboration for making the mission happen,' he said. The Group Captain also shared his experience in bringing Indian delicacies like the 'aam ras', 'gajar ka halwa' and 'moong daal ka halwa' to the ISS, highlighting the appreciation from his international crewmates for those dishes. 'I was able to bring three different types of food... That was aam ras, gajar ka halwa, and moong daal ka halwa. I must tell you everybody here loved it, and we sat together and shared the food, and they appreciated how good these were,' he recounted. The astronaut also described the space environment and revealed that it was both challenging and exhilarating. He shared his awe-inspiring view of the earth from space, noting that it reminded him of how 'fortunate' he was. 'It is hard, as your body needs to adapt to these conditions. The most exciting part of being in space is looking back at Earth from such an advantageous point. It makes you realise how fortunate you are to be on this planet,' he added. Working alongside crew members from the US, Poland and Hungary, Group Captain Shukla described the multinational environment as 'very, very exciting'. 'Working with people from many different countries and nationalities, the entire experience is very, very exciting,' he said, pointing to the diversity and camaraderie aboard the ISS. However, he also acknowledged the physical demands, particularly the difficulty in resting due to the mission's intensity and the environment they are currently in. 'The most difficult task is to go to sleep because of the excitement all around. As you are here for a short time and you want to do more and more... But you need to take rest,' he noted. This interaction marks a significant moment in India's space journey, as Group Captain Shukla, the second Indian to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma, continues to represent the nation aboard the ISS as the first Indian at the space station. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, part of Axiom Mission 4, launched on June 25 from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 3:21 am ET on Wednesday, aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. Group Captain Shukla is serving as Mission Pilot on the four-member Axiom Mission 4 and piloted the Dragon spacecraft, which successfully docked with the ISS on June 26, ahead of schedule, autonomously docking at 4:05 pm (IST) to the space-facing port of the space station's Harmony module. The Ax-4 crew was welcomed by the seven-member Expedition 73 team at the ISS and took part in a safety briefing. Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronauts Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary are part of the crew for the Axiom 4 mission. The Ax-4 crew is expected to stay aboard the space station for up to 14 days. Earlier on Saturday, Group Captain Shukla, during his interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that India looks 'very big and grand' from space. 'Jab pehli baar Bharat ko dekha, Bharat sach mein bohat bhavya dikta hain, jitna ham map pe dekhte hain, usse kahin jyada bada (When we saw India for the first time, we saw that India looks very grand, very big, much bigger than what we see on the map),' Group Captain Shukla said. (ANI)
