Moong Dal Halwa, Rice For Indian Astronaut's Travel To Space Station
New Delhi:
Indian Air Force (IAF) Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will carry moong dal halwa, Indian rice and Mango nectar among other Indian delicacies, when he flies to the International Space Station (ISS) next month, becoming the first Indian to do so.
According to Dr D K Singh, Director of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s Human Space Flight Centre in Bengaluru, Mr Shukla will have Indian cuisine while in space.
"He will have Indian food, such as moong dal halwa, Indian rice and Mango nectar, while in space," Mr Singh said.
NASA's Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams had fish curry during her flight to the ISS last year, before that she carried samosas.
Mr Shukla is scheduled to pilot the Axiom Mission 4, a private astronaut mission that will launch aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket. His travel to space comes four decades after Rakesh Sharma's iconic spaceflight onboard Russia's Soyuz spacecraft in 1984.
The mission, which is jointly being undertaken by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and ISRO, was scheduled to be launched on May 29 but has been delayed to June, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan said on Tuesday.
According to Mr Narayanan, the mission, which will take off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, will cost Rs 550 crores.
Mr Shukla will be accompanied by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and mission commander, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. Once docked, the astronauts are scheduled to spend up to 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting a mission comprising science, outreach and commercial activities.
Group Captain Shukla will serve as the astronaut designate and Mission Pilot. A decorated test pilot with the IAF, he was shortlisted under ISRO's Human Spaceflight Program (HSP) and is among the top contenders for the Gaganyaan mission, India's first indigenous crewed orbital flight. His journey aboard the Axiom Mission 4 is expected to provide critical hands-on experience in spaceflight operations, launch protocols, microgravity adaptation, and emergency preparedness - all essential for India's crewed space ambitions.
Dr Narayanan told NDTV "he has full confidence in the capabilities of Mr Shukla who would complete the mission successfully".
Underscoring the significance of the upcoming human spaceflight, Minister of State (MoS) for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said: "India is ready for its next space milestone."
He also noted that the collaboration with international partners and the strategic momentum of projects like the Gaganyaan Mission reflect India's commitment to becoming a global leader in space technology. He emphasised that these efforts are not only scientific in nature but also aligned with the vision of a developed and self-reliant India.
Mr Shukla will conduct seven experiments in the fields of agriculture, food and human biology when he travels to the ISS next month.
India has also picked Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair as a designated astronaut, who will become part of Ax-4 should Mr Shukla be unable to fly.
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