UP, Kerala students get rare peek into life on ISS during interaction with Shubhanshu Shukla

Lucknow/Thiruvananthapuram: It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students in Kerala and Uttar Pradesh to interact with India's first astronaut to reach the International Space Station, Shubhanshu Shukla, and see him floating in space playing with a ball in zero gravity. They relished it.

"I was so excited and happy. We had so many questions for him, and he answered many of them in detail and showed us how they float inside the ISS," Sanghavi, a Class 10 standard student from Nayarkuzhi in Kozhikode, told PTI Videos.

Students assembled at Shukla's hometown, Lucknow, and at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram bombarded him with a barrage of questions. What do astronauts eat? How does one sleep in space? What happens if someone falls sick there? How does the body adjust to space, and how much would it take to readjust on Earth? From his orbital post on the ISS, Shukla enthusiastically gave detailed answers to these questions. The students also sought to know about the benefits of the space programme and what part of the space visit is most enjoyable.

He described the launch experience onboard the Axiom Mission 4 from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on June 25 as "amazing" and "dynamic".

On the question of sleeping arrangements while in space, he said, "It is fun actually because in space there is no floor and no ceiling. So if you were to come and visit the station (ISS), you would find someone sleeping on the walls, someone on the ceiling."

"It is so easy to float up and tie yourself to the ceiling. The challenge is to be found at the same place where you slept at night and to ensure that we tie our sleeping bags to ensure we don't float away to some other place," Shukla said.

The Kerala batch was given around 10 minutes for the interaction, during which Shukla spoke to the students via video conferencing.

"He spoke about space travel, food, how he spends his free time at the space station, and the scientific experiments conducted there. He also encouraged us to stay curious to learn and excel in science," said Aditya, a student.

Niranjana, a student from Kokkallur in Kozhikode, said that the batch in Kerala was selected based on their performance in the Upper Secondary Scholarship (USS) exams. "Gifted category students from the USS were chosen, along with those who excelled in science clubs and related activities." The Union Government had issued strict instructions to schools and parents to keep the details of the programme confidential and asked them not to speak to the media beforehand.

The event was held without media presence.

About the interaction, a student in Lucknow said that when asked what happens if someone falls ill in space, the astronaut replied that they carry adequate medicines in case things go wrong.

During the interaction, Group Captain Angad Pratap, who is part of India's maiden manned space mission Gaganyaan, was in Lucknow to create awareness among the youth about space programmes. The student interaction was part of ISRO's Vidyarthi Samvad Programme.

Shukla is also one of the four astronaut-designates for Gaganyaan.

A student said that Shukla told them that astronauts hardly get any free time. "But they do watch things or play some sports," he said.

"However, one thing that astronauts look forward to is to go out and gaze into space and take a good view of the Earth -- it is very beautiful," a student, who was part of the interaction, told PTI.

Talking about the challenges of getting the body readjusted back on Earth, Shukla told his audience that the biggest challenge is the absence of gravity. "Space is a new situation for the body. So like today, I am feeling much better from what I was feeling on day one here," the astronaut said.

"My body has now kind of adapted to microgravity, but when I return to Earth, my body would have to readapt to gravity. This is a challenge again, and this adaptation will be required on re-entering Earth. A lot of preparations and procedures are required because space is a very dynamic place," he added.

Asked what astronauts eat, Shukla said that most of the food is pre-packaged, and adequate care is taken to ensure that they have enough nutrition. In fact, food becomes one of the main sources of motivation or pleasure in space, he said.

"Different food items are laid down and astronauts get to taste all of those and whatever they prefer is packed," said Shukla, who during his interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told him that he had carried desserts like Gazar Ka Halwa, Moong Dal Ka Halwa and Aam Ras with him to space.

A student wanted to know his take on the effect that space has on mental health. At this, Shukla, while admitting challenges, added that modern technology has ensured that astronauts get to connect with family and friends. "It helps a lot," he said.

Another student said, "He told us that he finds such interactions immensely rewarding because this shows us the future we have and the possibilities that exist, so that we can see what lies ahead of us, and this is what we have to aim at." Wing Commander Pratap told the students in Lucknow to stay motivated for the next couple of decades, which will witness immense possibilities unfolding for human spaceflight in India. He spoke of the exciting and challenging career in aerospace sciences.

"It was all so exciting. Group Captain Shubhanshu explained the varied nuances, challenges, and excitement of space travel, while Wing Commander Pratap motivated us to devote ourselves to science," a student said.

"Among other things, we could either become researchers or join the armed forces as an experimental test pilot for an exciting and challenging career." Among other things, Wing Commander Pratap highlighted the traits of Shukla, with positivity being the key one.

Another student said that when asked about how one stays fit in space where microgravity comes in play, Shukla said, "On Earth, we always have loading on our body due to gravity, and the muscles are always utilised while walking, sitting, or even standing." "But that is not the case in microgravity, as one suffers muscle loss. It is very important for astronauts to keep exercising," Shukla told the students and spoke of his exercise routine.

"There is a bicycle that we exercise on. Interestingly, there is no seat on the cycle because you are floating in microgravity. So you just lock on to the pedals, tie yourself to the belt and then you start exercising.

"There is also an exercise machine in which you can do all forms of exercises," he told the students while also demonstrating how one moves in space.