Prime Minister Narendra Modi met astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, who recently returned from the International Space Station.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), at his Lok Kalyan Marg residence.
Sharing his experiences, Shubhanshu Shukla, who was part of the Axiom-4 commercial mission from June 25 to July 15, said that food remained one of the biggest challenges on a space station.
“Food is a big challenge on a space station. There is less space, and cargo is expensive. You always try to pack as many calories and nutrients as possible in the least space, and experiments are going on in every way,” Shubhanshu Shukla said.
#WATCH | Delhi: During his interaction with PM Modi, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla said, “Food is a big challenge on a space station, there is less space, and cargo is expensive. You always try to pack as many calories and nutrients as possible in the least space, and… pic.twitter.com/oxZwaQ9HLv
— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2025
Shukla was warmly received by the prime minister, who hugged him and walked with his arm around the astronaut’s shoulder.
During the meeting, Shukla presented Modi with the Axiom-4 mission patch and the Indian tricolour he had carried to space. The same flag had featured in the backdrop when Shukla spoke to Modi virtually from the ISS on June 29. He also showed the prime minister photographs of Earth taken from space.
The Lucknow-born astronaut added that he was overwhelmed by the global recognition of India’s space programme. “Wherever I went, whoever I met, everyone was very happy to meet me, very excited. The biggest thing was that everyone knew about what India is doing in the field of space. Everyone knew about this and there were many people who were more excited about Gaganyaan than me, who were coming and asking me when is your mission going,” he told Modi.
Calling the interaction “a proud moment,” Modi later posted on X, “Had a great interaction with Shubhanshu Shukla. We discussed a wide range of subjects including his experiences in space, progress in science & technology as well as India’s ambitious Gaganyaan mission. India is proud of his feat.”
Shukla, who returned to India on Sunday, said he had fulfilled Modi’s advice to document every detail of his mission for the benefit of the upcoming Gaganyaan programme. As part of Axiom-4, Shukla and three other astronauts – Peggy Whitson (US), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary) – conducted over 60 experiments and 20 outreach sessions during their 20-day mission.
The article originally appeared on Hindustan Times
