With fascinating space video, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla shows glimpse of journey: ‘Look, that’s Bangalore…' | Watch
“What you would see is the Earth upside down… We would be passing over India,” Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla explained.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the Indian astronaut who recently returned from the International Space Station, shared a rare video clip recorded from space, at an event in Delhi.
“What you would see is the Earth upside down… [and] on the bottom of the screen are the stars… We would be passing over India,” he explained while showing the video on a large screen, PTI reported on Sunday.
Shukla, the first Indian to travel to the ISS and only the second to make a space journey, returned to Earth last month with his fellow astronauts after a 18-day sojourn as part of the Axiom Mission 4.
Watch the video below:
He turned commentator for a brief bit, explaining what was what on the screen. He pointed towards clusters of light as the cities of Bengaluru and Hyderabad. He described the experience of witnessing 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets in a day from the orbit.
The video clip was of the night view of Earth from his spacecraft. He said it was "one of the most beautiful sights" one could ever see.
Shukla was felicitated, along with three other chosen astronauts who would go for India's next manned space mission Gaganyaan, by defence minister Rajnath Singh at the Air Force Auditorium in Subroto Park in Delhi.
At the event, he also shared his journey in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and as part of the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
"During this mission, for 18 days, I carried with me seven experiments which were prepared by the Indian researchers. It was really challenging to do this in space because everything changes, the space around you changes, your body changes," he told those present.
"I grew up as a shy and reserved person. We used to hear stories of the spaceflight of Rakesh Sharma (first Indian in space) in our childhood days," he said.
He said the IAF transformed him.
Shukla, who will soon turn 40, was born and raised in Lucknow.
"Initially, I did not intend to join the defence (force), but I did. I filled up a form which my friend had bought, and eventually one thing led to another, and I landed up at the NDA (National Defence Academy)," he recalled in his nearly 30-minute address.
