India must pursue human spaceflight programme: Shubhanshu Shukla

Bengaluru: The US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) with the US Consulate General discussed the ongoing projects and future of the space sector with Group Captains Shubhanshu Shukla and Prasanth Balakrishna Nair. 

In 2025, Shukla became the first Indian to visit the International Space Station as a part of Axim Mission 4. Prasanth Nair was one of the four men identified to be trained for the Gaganyaan mission of the ISRO, part of the Indian human spaceflight programme.

He was the back up to Shubhanshu Shukla for the Axiom Mission 4. 

Addressing the media, Shukla said that India must pursue its ambitious human spaceflight programme despite complexities and challenges. Speaking about Mission Gaganyaan, Shukla said, “Only three countries in the world, so far, have attempted what we are trying to do with Mission Gaganyaan. This mission will place the country amongst a selected group of countries with the ability to travel to space.”

He also said that the Gaganyaan has provided a lot of opportunities to the local manufacturers of materials used in the building of a spacecraft. 

Speaking about Axiom Mission 4, Shukla said, “Collaborating with other countries is a way forward for space exploration in the space sector. There are a lot of opportunities irrespective of which country we belong to.” 

With the booming use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deep tech across all sectors, Prasanth Nair said, the same should be used in space as well. “The upcoming projects should focus beyond rockets and satellites as that problem now has largely been solved. The younger generation should use AI, which is a cutting edge technology, for the common good such as defence with a possible collaboration with like-minded countries.”

Reflecting on the relationship with the United States of America in the space sector, Nair said, “Both the countries have fantastic visibilities with good men, machines and leadership as they are both democracies and have a common interest.” 

Shukla also said that he had taken seven new space related experiments to test them during his stay there. He also shared their experience of their visit to the NASA center in Houston, in the US.