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He added that the astronauts underwent fluid loss, slow heart rate, loss of bone density, and muscle mass in the absence of exercise
Group Captain Shukla had mentioned during his broadcasts from space that his head felt heavy. On Thursday, he elaborated on what the human body undergoes in space. File pic
“Bharat aaj bhi antariksh se… sare jahan se acha dikhta hai.” The pride in Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s eyes was unmistakable. The first Indian to have spent time at the International Space Station spoke to the media in an extensive press conference on Thursday.
“When you reach orbit, your body doesn’t feel good… you experience space fog. For the first 3 days, I didn’t look outside. I was working when a team member said, ‘We are crossing over India.’ It was an emotional moment that I can’t describe in words. It was night, so first you saw the ocean, all dark, and then the country appeared in its full glory. It was an extremely emotional moment,” Shukla, known as Shuxs among the astronauts, said.
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Body took time to recover
Group Captain Shukla had mentioned during his broadcasts from space that his head felt heavy. On Thursday, he elaborated on what the human body undergoes in space.
“When I came back to earth, I thought I would walk. But when I took the first step back on earth, my legs failed. The team had to catch me, and steps 2, 3, and 4 were the same because the brain was wired differently. It took me 3-4 days to walk again, and after a week or 10 days, you regain 70 per cent of what you lost,” Shukla said.
He added that the astronauts underwent fluid loss, slow heart rate, loss of bone density, and muscle mass in the absence of exercise. “My head was 3 times its current size when I met the Prime Minister. The body took time to readjust to Earth’s gravity. I recently dropped my laptop from the bed, expecting it to float, but it crashed. I am slowly readjusting,” a smiling Shukla said.
Catastrophe avoided
ISRO Chief Dr V Narayanan revealed how close Shukla and 3 other astronauts were to a catastrophe. A crack in the rocket had gone unnoticed, which could have resulted in the rocket coming apart at takeoff.
“Probably it was treated as minor leakage by the Axiom team. Their team didn’t know the exact location of the leak when ISRO team asked them. Our team insisted on complete correction, and the launch was called off. After that, a crack was found on the rocket. The leak was increasing, and it could have led to a catastrophic situation. If this crack was allowed at takeoff, the vibration could have led to the rocket coming apart. Probably they took it a little lightly,” the head of ISRO said.
The crack forced the Axiom-4 mission (Ax-4) to be postponed from June 11 to the 25th.
Shukla, however, appeared nonchalant. “There was mutual trust among the various teams. They kept us informed in real time about what was happening,” Shukla said, adding, “I wasn’t anxious. We were screaming like kids when the countdown for takeoff happened.”
Shukla signed off by saying that the excitement in young Indians about space is his biggest takeaway. He added that the learnings from the Axiom-4 mission would go a long way in India’s space programme. “It is not just the research and the experiments. The experiences, the intangibles, are something you can’t put into words,” said Shukla, only the second Indian to go to space.
About the Author
Arunima is Editor (Home Affairs) and covers strategic, security and political affairs. From the Ukraine-Russia War to the India-China stand-off in Ladakh to India-Pak clashes, she has reported from ground zero …Read More
Arunima is Editor (Home Affairs) and covers strategic, security and political affairs. From the Ukraine-Russia War to the India-China stand-off in Ladakh to India-Pak clashes, she has reported from ground zero … Read More
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