‘Sky Is Never the Limit—for Me, You, or India’: Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla Tells PM Modi

‘Sky Is Never the Limit—for Me, You, or India’: The Indian Air Force group captain Shubhanshu Shukla who is on board International Space Station also demonstrated his applications with the prime minister of India via video conferencing.

On June 25, Shukla and three other astronauts jetted off to the ISS, on SpaceX Dragon capsule of NASA Kennedy Space Centre, as a part of Axiom-4 mission.

Shubhanshu Shukla was also the first Indian astronaut to visit the space in more than 40 years and this was a historic milestone to the country.

The Prime Minister's Office posted on its official X handle, a picture of the duo's interaction, “PM @narendramodi interacted with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who is aboard the International Space Station.”

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PM Modi also posted a video of his interaction with Shukla on X and wrote, "I had a wonderful conversation with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as he shared his experiences from the International Space Station."

In his interaction with the Indian astronaut, PM Modi told Shukla, "You are farthest from India but closest to Indians' heart."

The Prime Minister said that the successful voyage of the Group Captain up to the space is known as the shubh-aarambh (auspicious beginning) of a new era of youths of the country citing the word Shubh in his own name.

PM Modi expressed his desires, and of 1.4 billion Indians to Shukla.

There was also the laughter of the two when Shukla has brought along with him the 'gajar ka halwa' (carrot dessert) to his Space Station. The PM asked, did you and the other astronauts eat gajar ka halwa there? To this Shukla replied that they did eat the dessert and the other sweet foods, which he had carried along with himself.

Besides, the Prime Minister inquired Shukla about what India appears to be like in space, to which the Group Captain said, "India looks grand and bigger from space than it does on the map".

Shubhanshu Shukla also highlighted the need of being mindful and stated that it is a very important element. "We face many stressful situations, but mindfulness helps us to stay calm. If you stay calm, then you can take good decisions," he added.

Finally, in his message to those listening, the Indian astronaut said, "If you try and build your future properly, then the nation's future will also be good. And keep this one thing in your heart: 'Sky is never the limit', neither for you, nor me, nor for India."

Riding high on the success of the Axiom-4 launch, PM Modi had complied when he had expressed his congratulatory message and wished success to Shukla, mission pilot and other crew members of the mission: Mission commander Peggy Whitson, and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

As the Prime Minister had emphasized that Shukla, who was soon going to become the first Indian astronaut, in the ISS, went with the wishes, hopes, and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians.

As the Prime Minister had indicated, Shukla who was making the history as the first Indian astronaut in the ISS had carried with him the wishes, hopes and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians.

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On Thursday, the Dragon spacecraft of the Axiom-4 mission has docked with the Space Station and officially launched a two-week stay aboard of its crew.

The mission crew will perform scientific experiments, demonstration of technologies, and education outreach on-board in a microgravity environment during its stay.

Shubhanshu Shukla will head a grand total of 60 experiments in the mission that will be conducted aboard the ISS of which 7 were carried by Shubhanshu Shukla.

Axiom-4 mission is the result of a joint venture between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), in which a promise was given by the US President Donald Trump and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to establish the first Indian astronaut in the Space Station.

In the meantime, Shukla in his debut message at the ISS said, "It is a privilege to be here". He continued saying that the two weeks within the station is going to be awesome.

"Whatever expectations I had of coming here were surpassed by the view, of course, that is a big part of it, but also by you guys," the Indian astronaut said. “I think this is fantastic, this is wonderful and I am very confident that the next 14 days are going to be amazing, advancing science and research, and working together,” he added.

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