Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla shares harsh realities of space travel at Bengaluru event

Bengaluru: The Department of Science and Technology organised an interactive session and a felicitation ceremony for IAF astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, an Indian Air Force officer who recently flew on the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium.

During the programme, Shukla interacted with students from across Karnataka and shared a first-hand glimpse into life as an astronaut.

He also presented a short video summarising his space journey and the intensive training he had to undertake. 

Shukla kicked off his speech by jokingly mentioning that this time around, he would refrain from talking about Bengaluru's traffic.

"During my previous speech in Bengaluru, I jokingly mentioned that space was easier than navigating Bengaluru traffic. During the earlier conference, too, I had said a lot of things about space, but what got picked up was that one statement. So today, I'll refrain from talking about traffic and only talk about space," he said.  

Throughout the interaction, Shukla stressed the importance of maintaining both physical and mental health to become an astronaut.

He also shared the harsh realities of space travel — the difficulty of adjusting to microgravity, struggling to stand after returning to Earth, and the extreme G-forces astronauts endure.

“In emergencies, the spacecraft can exert 18–20 Gs — it feels like an elephant sitting on your chest,” he said.

Speaking about the future of India’s space programme, he praised ISRO’s Gaganyaan Mission, saying, “Gaganyaan is not just a mission—it is India’s declaration that we can achieve world-class space capability in our own way. We will be cost-effective without ever compromising on quality." 

He fielded numerous questions from students and reminded them that spaceflight is the result of teamwork.

“I may appear as a hero to you today, but thousands of engineers, doctors and specialists made my mission possible. You can become any one of them,” he said.

 Shukla urged students to set high goals and work relentlessly toward them “I trained for five years for a 20-day journey. Perseverance and patience are essential,” he added

Speaking at the event, Minister for Minor Irrigation and Science and Technology N S Boseraju highlighted various initiatives undertaken by the department, such as the distribution of 833 telescopes to rural schools, upcoming astronomy training for teachers, an astronomy-based academic calendar, and the launch of Nehru Stream Labs to promote hands-on learning.

Minister for School Education and Literacy Madhu Bangarappa, Principal Secretary N Manjula, and Planetarium Director BR Guruprasad were also present at the event.