 "Axiom-4 crew member Shubhanshu Shukla in a flight suit, aviation helmet and oxygen mask, gesturing to the camera during training at Nasa's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla soars into space June 2025 as the first Indian to join the International Space Station, bearing with him New Delhi's dreams of its own manned space flight. File image/AFP")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who is currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS), the PM’s Office said.
Shukla made history on Wednesday by becoming the first Indian in 41 years to travel to space, as part of a commercial mission organised by Axiom Space. The last Indian to do so was Rakesh Sharma in 1984.
The mission Ax-4 , includes astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary — each representing their country’s inaugural journey to the ISS. Axiom Space noted that this is also the second government-sponsored human spaceflight mission for India in over four decades.
Shukla will conduct seven experiments in space that are aimed at encouraging microgravity research in India, which hopes to build its space station by 2035 and send astronauts to the moon by 2047.
With inputs from agencies