In space, earth becomes your identity; humanity matters there not nationality: Shubhanshu Shukla

Panaji, Oct 10 (PTI) IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who became the first Indian to reach the International Space Station (ISS), said on Friday that when one leaves the planet to be in space, individual identities blur and the entire earth becomes one's identity.

Shukla, who was in Goa, said that nationality does not matter in space as humanity takes precedence.

Describing his experience at the ISS, he said that looking out from the station felt like being in an office with the best view possible.

"It was just too fascinating," he said, virtually addressing students from schools affiliated to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), as part of a session titled 'Igniting Minds, Exploring Frontiers: The Convergence of Space, Education, and Industry'.

During the interactive session, he said people may have different identities in this world, but they blur when one is in space.

"When you are a kid and going to school, our home and parents become our identity. When we go to college, the college becomes our identity. When you leave the city for another place, that city becomes your identity. When you go abroad, your country becomes your identity.

"When I was training in the United States (for the space mission), my country was my identity. When you leave the planet, your planet becomes your identity. It is such a strong feeling, the entire earth becomes your home," he said.

"You do not zoom into a particular continent, a particular country, a particular region, or where you live. You just look at the earth and say - 'This is where I live'," he said.

Nationality doesn't matter in space as humanity takes precedence, he said.

Shukla recalled the iconic line "Sare Jahan Se Achha" which India's first astronaut, Rakesh Sharma, had said to then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984. "I now fully understand his sentiment and what prompted him to say it," he said.

Shukla told the students that when one looks at the earth from above, it will change their perspective.

"When you are on earth, you may become a very important person, assume big offices, but when you look at our planet from space, you realise how small and insignificant we truly are," he said.

Shukla said when he saw India for the first time from above, it was a very emotional moment for him.

He said that after spending two to three days in space, he was busy with his work one day when a NASA astronaut told him they would be flying over India.

"He asked me whether I would like to have a look. Of course, I said. She then set up the cameras…the site of flying over the entire country at night was exceptionally beautiful, and the emotions it evoked were very overwhelming," Shukla said.

Group Captain Shukla, an Indian Air Force officer and test pilot, completed his maiden space voyage as part of the Axiom-4 mission, a commercial spaceflight supported by ISRO and NASA, and operated by Axiom Space, in August.

The journey marked a milestone for India: Shukla is the first Indian to step aboard the ISS and only the second Indian to go into space, following Rakesh Sharma’s iconic flight in 1984.

Meanwhile, replying to students' question about what surprised him in the space, Shukla said, "Actually, everything surprised me." "You have an imagination in mind of what it would feel like but when you go there, it is very-very different," he said.

He then narrated how sleeping in space was an altogether different experience vis-a-vis taking a nap on land.

"It was an extremely new experience for me. There is no bed. You get into a sleeping bed and you have to tie yourself up and fix yourself. Because if you don't fix yourself, you will sleep in one place and you will be found somewhere else in the morning," he said.

"You will just float away, you will gradually drift away," he added.

Shukla recalled that initially he wanted to put a pillow behind his neck, just to have a feeling of sleeping on the ground.

"But no matter how many pillows you put, you will never really rest on it because you are essentially sleeping in the air, you are floating," he said.

Shukla said the entire experience was very interesting.

"Your body gets used to this new concept, you know you are floating and just lying in the air and you go to sleep," he said.

The IAF officer said that after the third-fourth day, he had a very strong sensation that he was sleeping on a very hard bed - a wooden bed - even though he was sleeping in the air.

"That was surprising for me - how the body gets quickly used to this new environment," he said.

Interestingly, he said that there is no restriction where you prefer to sleep in space.

"It's a bunk bed everywhere in space, you can choose to sleep on the floor, on the wall, on the ceiling wherever you want. You can just go and hang whichever side you want to sleep on. So it is very fascinating and exciting," he said.

At the outset of the interaction with students, Dr Joseph Emmanuel, Chief Executive and Secretary of CISCE said, "This interaction with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will remain a defining experience for our students." PTI RPS NR NP