Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla reveals Axiom-4 mission preparation details

Undergoing survival tests in simulated environment learning photography to document space experiences and a team kayaking off the Mexican coast to foster camaraderie these were some of the activities that the crew of Axiom4 had engaged in before setting off on the mission astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla saidDuring an event hosted by the Indian Air Force on Sunday Group Captain Shukla who goes by the callsign Shux shared his experiences and challenges he faced while being part of the Axiom4 mission to the International Space Station ISS and the training he underwent prior to itAfter several postponements the Dragon spacecraft carrying him and other three astronauts was launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in the US on June 25It was so powerful it literally shakes every bone in your body You are going from 0 kmhr to 28500 kmhr in 85 minutes and that speaks about the magnitude of it Shukla recalled the intensity of the liftoff experienceAs the spacecraft was launched people in India and around the world cheered for the mission and extended the same gesture when the splashdown happened on their return to Earth on July 15Lucknowborn Shukla became the first Indian astronaut to travel to the ISS and described the experience of the mission as very exhilaratingDuring the event he also shared some anecdotes from his 20day space sojourn as part of the mission that was preceded by several months of hard trainingWhen you go to an ISS you are essentially living in a new house And it has its own rules its own set of terms and conditions like how you would eat how you would sleep How would you go to a bathroom actually that is the most challenging task to go to a washroom in space Shukla said drawing mirth from the audienceThe astronaut who will turn 40 this October 10 was commissioned into the IAF in 2006 and went on to become a decorated test pilot with over 2000 hours of flying time on advanced fighter aircraft such as the Su30 MKI MiG29 Jaguar and Dornier228His profile in the Axiom4 mission was of a mission pilot alongside commander Peggy Whitson of the US and mission specialists Slawosz UznanskiWisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of HungaryAs a mission pilot you are supposed to interact with the displays with the capsule itself So your training is slightly difficult as compared to the mission specialist he saidRecalling the training experience including at NASAs Johnson Space Centre in Houston Shukla said the challenge in space is that help is not readily available so one has to learn each and everything on groundAnd for the past one year this experience has been nothing short of wonderful he saidYou have to be trained as a medical professional for administering first aid you have to be trained as an engineer for maintenance as a scientist for performing experiments and at the same time you have to learn photography and videography and also how to speak on camera because everything you do has to be done by you There is nobody there who is going to come and assist you the Indian astronaut saidShukla conducted seven Indialed microgravity experiments across diverse domains of life sciences agriculture space biotechnology and cognitive researchI think we had some 20odd classes about photography and videography because when you go up there you would like to bring back memories and snapshots to be shared with people later Hopefully I have done a good job he saidDuring his address Shukla also shared a few videos of his training regimen and a small clip of the visuals of India as seen from space that he tried to capture on cameraAnd India does look really beautiful Im not just saying it because all of us are Indians and we are sitting here but I think that if you speak to any astronaut who is there on the station The unique positioning and the shape especially during night if you pass over India from the Indian Ocean south to north I think it is probably one of the most beautiful sights that you can ever see in your life he saidShukla recalling the celestial experience said from the orbit the crew saw sunrise and sunset 16 times a day and you never get bored of itEmphasising the diversity of the team with each belonging to a different country and culture he said besides survival tests in a simulated environment for crew members an exercise was also undertaken to foster camaraderie and team spirit among themSo a team kayaking was done off a beautiful coast in Mexico and I really enjoyed it he saidYou have to be a team player If you are not a team player you are not fit for spaceflight Because it doesnt work Shukla underlinedHe emphasised that as in an IAF training the majority of time in space training is what would you do if something goes wrongShukla grew up as a shy and reserved person hearing stories of the 1984 spaceflight of Rakesh Sharma in his childhood days And life like his recent space sojourn in a spacecraft orbit has indeed come full circle for him as he signed autographs for school students and obliged the fellow air warriors queuing up to get clicked with himAsked how this transformation feels he told PTI Oh it feels wonderful to see the excitement among students for space and Indias space programmeThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever