Shubhanshu Shukla’s voyage sets the stage for India's space exploration

New Delhi: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s space voyage marks the beginning of India’s sustained exploration of outer space, setting the stage for the Gaganyaan Mission in 2027 and Bharatiya Antariksha Station eight years later.

India’s very own human space-flight programme in which astronauts will be sent to an orbit 400 km above the earth, will catapult the country into a small league of nations that have sent their own citizens to space using their own space-craft and rockets.

Moreover, the programme will have several technology spin-offs ranging from shock-resistant automobile seats to food with a long shelf life. The Gaganyaan mission will also open up the possibility of commercial mining in space.

“Rakesh Sharma’s space trip was an experiment. That was very much like man on the moon in the 1960s and 1970s. It was a heroic activity but symbolic because India didn’t have a follow up programme,” veteran astrophysicist Somak Raychaudhury, Vice-Chancellor of Ashoka University, told DH.

“Shukla’s trip, on the other hand, has a new meaning. This will be a game changing moment to show that we are serious in building our astronaut corps.”

The Gaganyaan mission, planned for a launch in the first quarter of 2027 will be followed by Bharatiya Antariksha Station having five modules, the first of which will be launched in 2028. A human moon landing is planned by 2040.

“His experience with the Axiom-4 mission is important and will bring real-life exposure which will be critical for the Gaganyaan mission as well,” Raychaudhury said.

Some of the experiments that Group Captain Shukla will carry out during his two-week stay at the International Space Station, will provide inputs in designing the modules for the Indian space station.

Sources in the Indian Space Research Organisation said the technology spin-offs from the human space flight mission would include shock resistant automobile seats, bio-vest for medical monitoring, liquid cooled garments, foods with long shelf life and biocompatible body implants.

There would be other societal and commercial benefits like production of zero-defect artefacts, experiments to produce high-yielding seeds and advanced medicines, and planetary exploration for space mining.

"India is now in the final stages of preparation for the Gaganyaan mission, with firms like Larsen & Toubro, Tata and Ananth Technologies playing a critical role alongside our vibrant startups. The success of missions like Axiom-4 inspires our ecosystem and strengthens our resolve to make India a leading force in the new era of space exploration," said Lt Gen AK Bhatt (retd), director general, Indian Space Association.