Global development
‘I didn’t give much thought to the universe’: India’s first astronaut in 40 years inspires next generation of stargazers
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| ‘I didn’t give much thought to the universe’: India’s first astronaut in 40 years inspires next generation of stargazers |
The International Space Station has been flying over the country this week and excited children
tracking Shubhanshu Shukla’s every move will be hoping for a glimpse of his temporary home on Saturday night
AInternational Space Station passes over India this weekend, many of those looking up to catch a glimpse as it goes by will be excited schoolchildren, who, like millions across the country, have their eyes, hopes and dreams pinned on astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to visit the ISS.
What if the astronauts find evidence of intelligent life forms in space? Or even better, what if Shubhanshu Shukla’s experiments help humans discover a way to survive on other planets?” say
Deborshi Halder, an excited 15-year-old. His classmate, however, is concerned. “But if places beyond Earth become habitable, we humans may land up exploiting them too, leading to space pollution,” says Sabnam Sireen.
Shukla, an Indian air force test pilot, engineer and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) astronaut, is serving as a pilot on Axiom Mission 4.
Shux as he is referred to by his colleagues, is only the second Indian to travel to orbit, after Rakesh Sharma made that leap in 1984
Students of Kalash high school in West Bengal have been inspired by Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s trip to the International Space Station. Photograph: Courtesy of Saikat Ganguly and Sibsankar Palit
