‘Insights from Space Station visit will help Gaganyaan mission’: Shubhanshu Shukla

In a first ever media interaction on Thursday, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla — who became the first Indian to visit the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Axiom-4 mission — said the insights he gained from the visit will help India in the Gaganyaan mission.

Sharing an update about the seven experiments he conducted on the space station, Shukla said their results will be out in a few months.

“We are analysing the data. In a few months the results will be out. We were trained at NASA about how to conduct these experiments. One of the key takeaways was that an ecosystem was created on how to conduct experiments in microgravity,” he said.

Shukla said that different countries came together for one common cause. “Space unites people. Witnessing a human space flight mission is a different experience and it is very valuable. This mission has been extremely successful in achieving its objectives, but more importantly, it has given us insights that cannot be documented on paper. These will be critical as India prepares for Gaganyaan and beyond,” he said.

Group Captain Prasanth B Nair, who trained alongside Shukla for the Axiom-4 mission, described the experience as a reminder of India’s growing stature in the global space community. Drawing from his interactions abroad, he said that India’s achievements were met with respect and admiration, often accompanied by surprise at the scale of progress made with humility.

He emphasised that India’s approach to space was rooted in inclusivity and shared benefit, reflecting the nation’s belief in the oneness of humanity. Stressing that the future lies in space and related technologies, he said the progress made was possible only because of the collective contributions of scientists, policymakers and citizens.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Department of Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said Shukla’s Space voyage vindicates the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

He said that while the experiments were conducted by an Indian astronaut, their benefits would reach humanity at large — strengthening both India’s confidence and the world’s trust in wider collaborations.

He added that the astronauts’ training and participation in international missions also serves as valuable preparation as India moves closer to its own human spaceflight programme, Gaganyaan.