Astronaut profession now official in India: Shukla

‘Gaganyatri’ Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Sunday said ‘astronaut’ is now a recognised profession in India, offering endless opportunities for young minds.

Speaking at the Pune Literature Festival, organised on the sidelines of National Book Trust’s Pune Book Festival, he called upon students to aim to land on the moon, adding that “when you come, I will be there to compete with you.” Hailing the giant strides the country was taking in the field of space exploration, he said, “A lot of people may wonder why India is investing so much in space exploration. India is working on its own human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, of which we are a part. The mission aims to send an Indian astronaut to space and bring him back safely.”

“Beyond this, we are also planning to set up our own Bharatiya Space Station. By 2040, India aims to land on the Moon. Maybe someone sitting here today, a girl or a boy, will one day set foot on the lunar surface. When you come, I will be there to compete with you,” Shukla said.  Recounting his journey, Shukla said he was not even born when Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma travelled to space in 1984. “I was born in 1985. I grew up listening to those stories. But the thought of becoming an astronaut never occurred to me because India did not have a programme then. But today, when I speak to students, in almost every interaction, someone asks me how to become an astronaut,” he said.

“Now, astronaut is a profession. It is available. It is no longer a dream. One can actually become an astronaut, and it is open to all of you. Work hard. If I can do this, you can do it too,” he said, encouraging those in the gathering. When one leaves the planet, one’s sense of identity comes from the planet he or she is from, Shukla said.

“In space, Earth becomes your home. Not a particular country, region, city or place. That feeling is extremely powerful. To see the entire world as one home is an altogether different experience. I felt that deeply,” he emphasised.

Shukla said the training that went into making him a ‘Gaganyatri’ was extensive, which started in 2020. “In 2025, I finally embarked on the mission along with other astronauts. The ignition of the rocket is so powerful that the body feels its force. Every part of the body shakes. It is an extremely intense experience. I forgot everything. All the training went out of the window,” he recalled.

Shukla also told the gathering about the technical aspects of the mission, including the daily routine aboard the space station in microgravity, and the biological changes experienced by him and his colleagues, as well as light-hearted moments related to living in microgravity.

“Several scientific experiments were conducted in space, and the lessons learned would help India when it sets up its own space station in the near future,” said Shukla, who also showed the video he had captured of India while travelling over the country in the ISS. Group Captain Shukla became the first Indian to travel to the International Space Station when the mission was launched on June 25 this year. He returned to Earth on July 15, his 18-day stay heralding a new chapter in the country’s space programme.

His time aboard the ISS with fellow members of theAxim-4 crew and Expedition 73 also embodied India’s growing leadership and international space cooperation.