India still looks ‘Saare jahan se achha’, says Shukla as he bids farewell to ISS

Even today, India looks ‘sare jahan se achha’ from space, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla said on Sunday as the Axiom-4 mission crew prepares to bid farewell to the International Space Station (ISS).

In his farewell address to the ISS, Shukla said that the two-and-a-half-week journey has been incredible.

He said that today’s India looks ambitious, fearless, confident and proud.

Referring to Rakesh Sharma, first Indian who went to space, Shukla said, “41 years ago an Indian went to space and said how India looks from space. We all want to know how India looks today. Today’s India looks ambitious, fearless, confident and proud.”

He said that the mission is an example of what humanity is capable of when different countries join hands to achieve a common goal.

“It has been an incredible journey. I did not imagine all this when I started on Falcon 9 on June 25. It has been made incredible because of all the people involved. It was an incredible joy to be here. Over the past 2.5 weeks, we have done a lot of science on the station. We have done outreach activities and looked back at the earth whenever we found time. It also seems magical to me. I thank my country and all citizens for supporting this mission and me with all their hearts. I would like to thank ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) for making this happen, all the colleagues at ISRO who have worked tirelessly in developing protocols, science and the outreach activities,” Shukla, who is the mission pilot for the Axiom-4, said.

He said that the mission will have far reaching implications beyond science.

“I carry with me a lot of memories and learnings from the mission that I would try and spread back. What sticks to me is what humanity is capable of when all of us come together to work for a common goal,” Shukla said.

Addressing India, he said that while the space mission is about to end, India’s human space flight journey begins which would be long and tough.

“However, I would say that once decided, then even stars are attainable,” Shukla added.

The Axiom-4 mission crew — Commander Peggy Whitson, Shukla, mission specialists Slawoz “Suave” Uzanaski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu will undock at 4.35 PM on Monday.