logo
India's Cosmic Leap: Shubhanshu Shukla's Return Journey Begins Today

India's Cosmic Leap: Shubhanshu Shukla's Return Journey Begins Today

NDTV14-07-2025
New Delhi:
The epic journey of any Indian in space in the 21st century is beginning at its end. India's Gaganyatri, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, is packing his bags for his day-long ride to come back to Earth after spending nearly three weeks in space.
India's cosmic leap's phase one is ending with the Axiom-4 mission, which is also referred to as Mission Akash Ganga, but this was the easy part. Now, when Astronaut Shukla returns, the hard part will begin when he gets down to translate his learnings to India's own human space flight program, Gaganyaan. India has allocated nearly Rs 33,000 crore for the entire Gaganyaan program, leading up to landing an Indian on the moon by 2040.
Axiom Space, the Houston-based private company that spearheaded this trip, announced that after spending 18 eventful days aboard the International Space Station, the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew is preparing for their journey home. Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot Shubhanshu "Shux" Shukla, and Mission Specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu spent their final day in orbit packing and making final preparations for departure.
We don't get in our flight suits often, but chance had us all decked out so we took advantage and took some photos with our new crewmates.
In this picture we have eight astronauts representing the United States, Japan, India, Hungary and Poland. It's been a pleasure getting to… pic.twitter.com/l3AWgG9quD
— Jonny Kim (@JonnyKimUSA) July 13, 2025
This mission not only marks Mr Shukla as the second Indian astronaut in space-following Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma's historic flight in 1984-but also positions India as a serious contender in the global space community. Mr Sharma spent a little over 7 days in space aboard the Soviet space station Salyut-7. Now, Mr Shukla became the first Indian to visit the ISS and has spent nearly three weeks in space. Incidentally, Mr Shukla was not even born when Mr Sharma undertook that journey, but 39-year-old Shukla is truly defining the future of human space flight for India.
India's Gaganyatri or astronaut is likely to return to Earth around 3 pm India time on July 15, and he will reach terra firma near the coast of California, said the Indian space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Axiom Space said to celebrate the end of their mission, the Ax-4 astronauts participated in a traditional farewell ceremony alongside NASA's Expedition crew - a moment that highlighted the camaraderie, collaboration, and global unity.' Speaking at the farewell ceremony, Mr Shukla said, "One thing that really sticks with me is what humanity is capable of when all of us come together from different parts of the world and work for a common goal or a common objective. It is truly incredible."
This mission, dubbed Akash Ganga, is a collaborative effort between Axiom Space Inc., NASA, and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and represents a significant step forward in India's human spaceflight ambitions, including the upcoming Gaganyaan mission and the proposed Bhartiya Antariksha Station.
Mr Shukla and three crew lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25. They docked to the space station on June 26, and if all goes well, especially weather permitting in the descent corridor, the mission, which Mr Shukla is piloting, will safely splash down on July 15.
India's cosmic leap is now nearing the beginning of its end. ISRO has revealed that the splashdown will take place on July 15, at 15:00 IST. Earlier, according to NASA's Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stitch, the undocking of the Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying Mr Shukla and three other astronauts is scheduled for July 14, at 16:30 IST. Following a series of orbital manoeuvres, the spacecraft is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean near the coast of California, USA.
During his stay aboard the ISS, Mr Shukla conducted seven India-specific microgravity experiments, showcasing India's growing capabilities in space science and technology. These experiments are designed to generate critical data for future planetary missions and long-duration space habitation.
The Indian space agency said, "ISRO's flight surgeons are continuously monitoring & ensuring the overall health and fitness of the Gaganyatri through participation in private medical/psychological conferences. Gaganyatri Shubhanshu is in good health condition and in high spirit."
Mr Shukla said, "Now as my journey is about to end, your and my journey is still very long. Our human space mission journey is very long and very difficult as well. But I assure you that if we make a decision, even stars are attainable. 41 years ago, an Indian went to space, and he told us what India looks like from space. And somewhere, I feel that we all want to know how India looks today. Let me tell you. Today's India looks magnificent from space. Today's India looks fearless. Today's India looks confident. Today's India looks full of pride. And because of all these reasons, I can once again say that today's India still looks better than any other country. Let's meet on Earth soon."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

How robotics can help bridge the digital divide in tribal India
How robotics can help bridge the digital divide in tribal India

The Hindu

timea minute ago

  • The Hindu

How robotics can help bridge the digital divide in tribal India

India's diversity extends beyond basic linguistics, bringing in cultural, socio-economic, and regional markers. This country is home to over one crore tribal residents whose history goes back thousands of years and makes up almost 9% of the total Indian population. However, despite having a large population, Indian tribal communities have remained underserved and marginalised for a long period. Global technological advancements could help bridge the digital divide to ensure inclusive growth. The term technological advancements is considerably broad if we look to apply it to bridging the digital divide in tribal India. At present, India and the rest of the world are placing tremendous emphasis on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Cloud, etc. This means that significant competition has already been involved in the space. However, one such discipline exists that is yet to receive simultaneous attention from the world — Robotics. Experiencing the digital divide Many tribal communities reside in regions that have historically not been developed due to several challenges. For instance, the remote areas of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have witnessed instability, and connectivity has borne the brunt of it. In the Seven Sister States or the northeastern part of the country, connectivity has once again been a challenge because of the terrain. However, modern digital technologies mean that these challenges can essentially be overcome, and the introduction of an interesting discipline such as Robotics that could be demonstrated first-hand can lead to significant developments. The digital divide of the Indian tribal communities is not only because of connectivity challenges but also because they live on the margins in terms of economic progress, social development and technology access. Yet, the emergence of new technologies has impacted them as well, and may help to advance their living standards. While Robotics could be a complex discipline at first glance, its real-world applications and demonstrations align perfectly for motivating the youth, and first-hand demonstrations help to overcome the misconception of complexity. Robotics can lend itself to the method of learning by doing. The devices are real things and working with them give a sense of satisfaction, rendering them attractive to young people, including tribal youth. Scope of development Though literacy rates among the ST population is relatively high, some 70%, the mother tongue would be the best mode of instruction for tribal communities, just like it is for any community. But conveying technology and technical terms in the native languages of Indian tribes has been a challenge. With the advancements in AI, however, it is possible to create small language models (SLMs) that are equipped with regional languages or dialects. Using these digital mediums for pedagogy enables the diverse tribal communities to not only learn about different technological disciplines, including Robotics in their mother tongue, but also practice the same. These SLMs are equipped with data banks, or digital libraries that can be further used to create a long-term knowledge-gathering process. By deploying this as part of the larger outreach process, the digital divide is not only bridged in an era-appropriate way but also boosts the the chances for tribal youth to join the community of highly trained tech professionals. As a result of this comprehensive effort, a long-term talent pipeline can be created between the tribal communities and the technology sector, developing the quality of life of the youth while also offering the industry stakeholders a steady supply of highly efficient professionals. The advent of new-age technology, such as AI-driven classrooms, learning solutions, and others, means that these tools can be made available to the most marginalised too. However, it must be a public-private affair, and such is the case that is taking place via different State governments introducing similar courses in the K12 curricula in schools, and the private sector bolstering it with community outreach campaigns. With the outreach process surrounding Robotics in the middle, long-term developments of the communities themselves can be made possible, and by tapping their untapped potential, India stands to gain massively going into the next decade. (Born in a remote town in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, Arun Prakash is Founder and CEO of GUVI, an HCL Group Company and an IIT-Madras & IIM-Ahmedabad incubated EdTech platform that offers free and paid coding and management courses in Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Swahili, Bengali, Tamil, and so on.)

India has the potential to be a global lab for scalable longevity solutions: Accel's Prashanth Prakash
India has the potential to be a global lab for scalable longevity solutions: Accel's Prashanth Prakash

Mint

timea minute ago

  • Mint

India has the potential to be a global lab for scalable longevity solutions: Accel's Prashanth Prakash

Bengaluru-based wellness startup Biopeak had raised $3.5 million recently in a funding round led by Prashanth Prakash, founding partner of Accel Partners, that also saw participation from Manipal Group's Ranjan Pai through his investment vehicle Claypond Capital and Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath and Nithin Kamath. In this exclusive interview, Prakash talks about longevity as a concept and its importance in future. Excerpts: Hello Prashanth, what was the thought process behind this investment decision? The timing of this investment is deeply intentional. We are at a unique intersection in human health where diagnostics, artificial intelligence, and longevity science are converging with extraordinary speed. Biopeak is building an integrated, precision health system grounded in global science but tailored to the unique biological, environmental, and lifestyle factors of the Indian population. This is not just a business bet—it's a belief that India will lead the world in next-generation healthcare. The thought process was simple: medicine is shifting from reactive to predictive and preventive, and Biopeak is among the few platforms architecting that future in a scalable, scientifically grounded way. It will enable us to plot with unprecedented detail personalised health trajectories for a specific individual using multi-dimensional data collection, integration, and prediction. The focus on deeply personalised healthcare is going to be huge in the future. Right? The transition from universal averages to personalised insights will represent a revolution in how we detect, predict, prevent adverse events and build resilience reserves. This new model of Biology and AI-led medicine is an exciting paradigm for the future of healthcare in our country that investors are excited to back. What's your definition of longevity? Longevity, for us, is not merely about extending the lifespan but expanding the healthspan. Ensuring more years that are healthy, vital, and productive is more crucial. In the Indian context, this requires a unique balance: respect for traditional knowledge systems, alignment with evolving regulatory frameworks, and deep reliance on evidence-based science. We're combining cutting-edge diagnostics—from microbiome and metabolomics to imaging and functional genomics—with culturally compatible interventions and a powerful AI layer. Longevity for us in India means democratising access to health optimisation—life partnerships between human intelligence and machine precision, rooted in science, ethics, and scale. In ancient civilizations including India, people were said to have lived for a much longer span of time. How do you relate that to the work Biopeak is doing and the results it is hoping to achieve? While environmental and societal contexts have changed drastically, ancient systems often emphasised internal balance, rhythm with nature, and preventative health —all are core principles in today's longevity science. At Biopeak, we're not romanticising the past—we're modelling it. Using symbolic and generative AI frameworks, we're integrating timeless health principles with modern biological data to predict individual responses to pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and lifestyle interventions. It's not about replicating ancient lifespans—it's about reclaiming biological potential by harmonising past wisdom with today's precision tools. Do you think longevity as a concept can be realistically spread to all sections of society? Or will it remain only an aspiration of the well-heeled? Longevity must not become a luxury. With AI at the core of Biopeak's platform, we can rapidly model and scale health solutions based on outcomes from higher-touch cases to broader population needs. What starts with the few can be democratised for the many through intelligent design, efficient diagnostics, and continuous learning from diverse cohorts. India has the potential to be a global lab for scalable longevity solutions—not by diluting science but by deploying it with cultural and economic sensitivity. Through our own longitudinal data leveraging interdisciplinary collaboration (Longevity India, an initiative of the Indian Institute of Science), we aim to identify markers of organ system malfunction before pathology sets in so that we can implement a health management program which will extend healthspan and improve the quality of life for the ageing population across all sections of society. At the core of Biopeak's offering, I believe, is a diagnostic system that includes tests like organic acid profiling, microbiome mapping, salivary cortisol rhythms, and whole-exome functional genomics. These are paired with imaging tools such as MRI, CT, and ECHO, as well as tissue-level screenings that examine markers like mineral levels, toxin load, and oxidative stress. Does this make Biopeak a unique company in the world? Yes, Biopeak is unique both in its scientific architecture and its population focus. It combines multiple high-resolution diagnostic modalities—molecular, functional, and structural—into a unified health intelligence platform. Each individual is paired with a biologist and clinician, and guided through a dynamic health roadmap. What further sets it apart is its South Asia-centric design, which considers the genetic, dietary, cultural, and environmental nuances of this region. Supported by research from institutions like IISc and informed by global best practices, Biopeak is not just another health company—it's a systems-level rethink of what human health can be in the 21st century. What's Medicine 4.0? What does it look to solve? What are its basic principles? Medicine 4.0 is the natural evolution of healthcare in the age of AI and high-resolution biology. It's defined by its longitudinal view of health, multisystem diagnostics, real-time feedback loops, and personalised intervention frameworks. It's not about treating symptoms—it's about continuously adapting to the evolving biology of the individual. This approach integrates international technologies, leverages big data with small, precise insights, and focuses on outcomes over time rather than episodic care. In short, it's predictive, participatory, personalised, and preventive. What do you think are the key pillars of the Medicine 4.0 framework as far as BioPeak is concerned? Biopeak leverages data from modern genomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, and metagenomics analytics to provide a molecular view of an individual's unique biology. This integration identifies systemic equilibrium for identifying subtle imbalances and hidden dysfunctions long before symptoms arise. From DXA scans for bone density to functional MRIs and real-time metabolic imaging, Biopeak employs cutting-edge tools that visualise internal systems and structural health markers. Using a hybrid AI approach, combining symbolic AI (for precise, rule-based interpretations) and generative AI (for pattern recognition and predictive modelling), Biopeak can detect complex biological interrelations and generate personalised health insights. What do you think are the limitations of the current health systems worldwide and in India? Globally and in India, health systems remain largely reactive, fragmented, and oriented around acute interventions rather than long-term prevention. There's a heavy focus on managing disease rather than predicting and reversing the conditions that lead to it. What's missing is a systems view—an integration of diagnostics, therapeutics, and lifestyle within a cohesive, continuously updating framework. People are treated as conditions, not as dynamic ecosystems. Long-term biological consequences of current choices are rarely factored into care. The foundation of Medicine 2.0 was built on population averages, with protocols and interventions developed based on data from extensive observational and interventional studies. While this approach helped standardise treatments, it does not account for individual variability. Each person's genetic framework, metabolism, lifestyle, and environment interactions are unique, making the n=1 (individual-first) model essential for true health optimisation. Biopeak is solving for precisely this: unifying the fragmented landscape into an intelligent, longitudinal system centred around the individual.

India has to triple its satellites in orbit by 2040: ISRO chief
India has to triple its satellites in orbit by 2040: ISRO chief

Time of India

time40 minutes ago

  • Time of India

India has to triple its satellites in orbit by 2040: ISRO chief

ISRO Chairman V Narayanan on Friday said that India has to nearly triple its number of satellites in space, from the current 55, within the next three years. Delivering 'The GP Birla Memorial Lecture on Indian Space Programme - Accomplishments, Challenges and Future Perspectives', Narayanan said by 2040 India would be on par with any other nation in terms of space technology, application area, and infrastructure. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Public Policy Project Management Cybersecurity Management Design Thinking MBA Technology Degree healthcare Leadership Others Digital Marketing PGDM Finance Healthcare Product Management Data Science Artificial Intelligence Data Science CXO MCA Operations Management others Data Analytics Skills you'll gain: Duration: 12 Months IIM Calcutta Executive Programme in Public Policy and Management Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Economics for Public Policy Making Quantitative Techniques Public & Project Finance Law, Health & Urban Development Policy Duration: 12 Months IIM Kozhikode Professional Certificate Programme in Public Policy Management Starts on Mar 3, 2024 Get Details He also said as many as 12 launch vehicle missions are planned by the ISRO this year. The upcoming mission, NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) scheduled to be launched by India's GSLV F16 on July 30. "Now we are working on building our own space station. We are going to have our own Chandrayan landing. Right now, 55 satellites are in orbit serving the common man in this country. And in another three years, this number has to become almost three times. The requirement is huge. The demand is so much that we have to build satellites. We are working towards that," he said. Later, talking to reporters, he said that in 2035 India will build a full space station, and the first module will be placed in orbit in 2028. Live Events Narayanan said, as far as space sector reforms are concerned, a lot of work is going on and earlier ISRO's model of work used to be service-oriented, but now it wants to grab business opportunities.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store