
Machine moves fast but your brain must be faster: Gaganyaan astronaut
Pratap (43), an IAF test pilot who believes space should be accessible to all, spoke to The Indian Express during an ISRO-backed event in the national capital. At the venue, he patiently clicked photographs with all those who approached him, asked students about their studies, reassured a shy child by saying he looked 'very handsome' — and eventually had to remove his astronaut jacket to leave without further delay.
Edited excerpts from the interview:
There are definitely certain parallels between the two domains — while saying this, I do not want to imply that piloting is essential for becoming an astronaut. Astronautics is all about doing science in space; it should be accessible to one and all. We need people from all communities — scientists, doctors, engineers, philosophers, those from the arts and commerce world, as well as pilots.
When space becomes accessible to everyone — more and more human beings sent from across the world — we will start thinking of ourselves as representatives of our planet. That is when we will grow beyond the smaller issues we are embroiling ourselves in.
It just so happens that space travel is all about aviating: if you want to go to space, you need to traverse the atmosphere, and when you come back, you again need to traverse the atmosphere. What this requires is a lot of quick decision-making and staying ahead of a very, very fast-moving machine. The speed at which the machine is moving requires your brain to function even faster… A lot of these things are experienced by pilots here on Earth. Experientially, piloting is very close to being an astronaut. It's not that others aren't capable; they're simply not trained for it.
So, test pilots — by virtue of their academic prowess and their experience aviating inside fast-moving vehicles — are more suitable and more easily trainable, and thus are given preference whenever a prototype spaceflight starts.
Anyone who had cleared the test pilot examination — the most difficult examination in the Indian Air Force — was considered eligible. There were IQ tests, flying-skills assessments, and stress-tolerance evaluations.
In the process, what I realised was that your knowledge can always be prepared. I'll draw an analogy with a computer: if you have an adequate hard drive and RAM, you can load any program. So the selection process was really about checking the size of the processor capability.
In fact, there were many people brighter than us in various fields who did not make it. There were essentially a number of boxes you had to tick, and if even one box was unchecked, you could be the brightest human being but still get rejected. I know of brilliant test pilots who lost out due to factors beyond their control — for example, the medical evaluation. So, you have to thank your stars if you do make it.
Normally, space experiments are conducted inside large, almirah-sized racks onboard a space station. But Gaganyaan only has the crew module — no racks, just a small, box-like apparatus. Most experiments, as worldwide, will be in microbiology, materials science, and combustion engineering. These three fields can propel space exploration to the next level — interplanetary travel.
The best way to perform any experiment is to have the scientist onboard the station so settings can be tweaked and improvised to get good results. That may not always be possible. Instead, there are short-duration experiments with many autonomous features. So someone with some knowledge of how the experiment works, what results are expected, and an understanding of data purity and integrity can initialize the sequences. None of this develops overnight — you train for a good five to six months on a lot of maths and statistics.
An astronaut has to train for many things that other human beings don't, because they enjoy the comforts of our planet…
There is a lot of attention that comes with being an astronaut — your life becomes public. I learn so much from interacting with people: their dreams inspire me and have deeply impacted my personal growth. I've seen other astronauts share the same view.
It's one of our responsibilities to further the cause of science and to inspire others to take up science. I always tell young students to stay in India, not chase quick money, but invest in unique opportunities such as working with ISRO.
The interaction was a bit personal. Last year, my mother — who was terminally ill — came all the way from Bengaluru for the ceremony. I requested the Prime Minister, 'Can you please meet her?' and he obliged. Normally, to meet the PM you have to undergo a Covid test and follow strict protocol. He said it didn't matter and that he would meet her. He is magnanimous that way. This was in February last year, and I lost her in August.
More important, however, was his vision for space. ISRO has laid out a solid roadmap, but we all need to understand that it requires sustained financial support. It's encouraging that the Government is handholding my parent space agency and that ISRO is also committing its resources.
Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government's management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme.
Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports.
Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country's space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan.
She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University's Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor's Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times.
When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Army hosts curtain-raiser for Tri-Services Academia Technology Symposium in Delhi
The Indian Army held a curtain-raiser event on Friday (July 4, 2025) for the upcoming Tri-Services Academia Technology Symposium at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi. The event formally launched preparations for the main symposium scheduled to be held on September 22–23. Themed 'Vivek va Anusandhan se Vijay', the initiative aims to deepen collaboration between the Armed Forces and academia for the development of cutting-edge indigenous technologies. Powering Indigenous Defence Innovation The Indian Army, in coordination with Indian Navy & Indian Air Force, held a Curtain Raiser for the Tri-Services Academia Technology Symposium at Manekshaw Centre #NewDelhi with the Theme 'Vivek va Anusandhan se Vijay'. The main event to be… — ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) July 4, 2025 The primary objective of the symposium is to develop an integrated perspective for creating a synergised services–academia research and development ecosystem. It seeks to identify and harness the scientific potential within academic institutions to meet the niche technological needs of the Indian armed forces, thereby contributing to long-term self-reliance in defence capabilities. As part of the curtain-raiser, a dedicated portal was inaugurated to facilitate participation from academic institutions across the country. Also read: BrahMos chief stresses tri-sector collaboration to equip Navy cadets for tech-driven warfare Submitted proposals and exhibits will be reviewed by subject matter experts from the respective defence services. Shortlisted entries will be invited for one-on-one discussions with services representatives and will be showcased during the exhibition segment of the symposium. The most promising innovations and proposals will be recognised and felicitated during the valedictory session. The Tri-Services Academia Technology Symposium represents a key initiative towards narrowing down the gap between academic research and defence application. It reaffirms the armed forces' commitment to nurturing indigenous technological innovation in alignment with the vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'. The event was conducted in coordination with the Integrated Defence Staff, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force.


Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Indian Express
Shubhanshu Shukla says excitement to do more experiments posing difficulty to fall asleep
Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to reach the International Space Station (ISS), Friday spoke with Indian students during his first ham radio interaction from onboard the space laboratory. 'The most difficult task is to go to sleep, because of the excitement and wanting to do more and more experiments…,' he said. 'I am doing a lot of experiments and these are challenging and exciting. All of these experiments have been planned by ISRO-NASA. But there are a few that I particularly like, especially the one on stem cells. We know there is limited time (onboard the ISS) but we want to do more and more (experiments). But we need to get rest to do the experiments,' said Shukla, along with demonstrating maneuvers and space-moves to be done to get tasks done. He also showed students his sleeping bag. Shukla was live on ham radio for less than ten minutes when the ISS was passing close to the horizon around 3.47pm on Friday, July 4. The ham radio communication was made to the UR Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru via telebridge (partly phone-partly ham connection), with the ground station located in Greenbelt, Maryland, US. Shukla was given a set of select questions prepared by students from all over India, who were shortlisted under three categories. Nearly 145 students joined live from Thiruvananthapuram and a similar number connected from Lucknow and Bengaluru. As the ISS orbits the Earth at an average speed of over 27,000 km/hr making 16 orbits/day, the best possible bandwidth for establishing ham radio communication generally lasts for just five to eight minutes. Shukla's voice was filled with excitement as he took on the questions and gave quick, short answers each ending with 'over' — hinting at the next question he was proceeding to take up. Shukla spoke about the ride onboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon on June 25, the tiny capsule, the accelerating speeds and the one-and-a-half days of 'floating' in space till docking at the ISS and how his body faced hardships in adapting to the new conditions in space. The Axiom-4 mission is led by NASA, in partnership with ISRO and the European Space Agency. On the role of this international collaboration, Shukla said: ' I think international collaboration is the key for the success of a mission to the ISS and space. Even for our mission, Axiom-4, ISRO, NASA and ESA… everyone came together to make this mission happen. I have realised the power of global collaboration. Working with many people of different nationalities is an entirely exciting experience. So definitely, global collaboration is the key and I look forward to more such missions.' Indian food also touched 'new heights' with Shukla's Ax-4. He is carrying with him three delicacies – aamaras, moong dal halwa, and gajar halwa. 'These foods were prepared by ISRO in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (ISRO). I shared these foods with everybody and they loved and appreciated it.' The Earth's view from space, Shukla said, was the most beautiful one from onboard the ISS. 'The most exciting part about being in space is looking back at earth from the vantage point. It is big, very beautiful and reminded me of how fortunate we are to be on this planet. It is also a realisation of how important this planet is with everything we have.' Shukla will make the second and final communication using ham radio at 2.08pm on July 8 with the Human Spaceflight Center at the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) in Meghalaya.


The Hindu
5 hours ago
- The Hindu
Exciting to see Earth from vantage point of ISS: Shubhanshu Shukla
Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla on Friday (July 4, 2025) said he and fellow astronauts on the International Space Station relished 'aam ras', 'gajar ka halwa', 'moong dal halwa' and delicacies from other countries as he completed a week on board the orbital lab. Group Captain Shukla, who docked at the ISS on June 26 as part of the Axiom-4 mission, completed a week on the ISS and got a day off, which he spent connecting with family and friends back on Earth. The Axiom-4 (Ax-4) crew, which includes Group Captain Shukla and three other astronauts, completed 113 orbits around the Earth by the end of July 3, clocking over 4.66 million km, which is equivalent to nearly 12 times the distance between the Earth and the moon. 'It was a good moment. We got food from different countries and got to share it with all the crew,' Group Captain Shukla, who has the call sign 'Shux', said in a brief interaction with scientists at the URSC, Bengaluru over HAM radio connection. On Thursday (July 3, 2025), Group Captain Shukla also became the Indian astronaut with the longest stay in space, surpassing the record of his mentor Rakesh Sharma, who spent seven days, 21 hours and 40 minutes in space as part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme in 1984. As of Thursday (July 3, 2025), Shukla has spent nine days in space. He said the most exciting part of the mission was looking back at Earth from the vantage point of the International Space Station. Group Captain Shukla said working with people from different countries too was an exciting experience. Sharing his experience of the launch from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, Group Captain Shukla said, 'The rocket launch was very dynamic; it was very fast. As you go higher, you go faster and the accelerations were quite high.' The Axiom-4 mission has veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson as commander, Shukla as pilot, and Polish astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu as mission specialists. An Axiom Space statement said that in just seven days, the Ax-4 astronauts have already made significant contributions to scientific research. 'Peggy has been involved in cancer research using microgravity to study how tumour cells behave in space, work that is helping develop new therapeutic targets for metastatic cancers,' the Axiom Space statement said. 'Shux has been conducting experiments that explore how microgravity affects the growth and genetic behaviour of algae and how tardigrades, hardy microscopic creatures, survive and reproduce in space,' it said. The findings of the experiments conducted by Group Captain Shukla could reveal new insights into the molecular mechanisms of cellular resilience, which could translate into clinically relevant knowledge on Earth. 'A proud moment for India as our Indian Air Force officer becomes the first Indian military astronaut to board the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Axiom Mission 4: First Indian in space after 40 years, Leading seven India-specific scientific experiments, representing India in over 60 global studies on Biology, Earth science & Material science,' Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said in a post on X. A proud moment for India as our Indian Air Force officer becomes the first Indian military astronaut to board the #InternationalSpaceStation (ISS) as part of #AxiomMission4: - First Indian in space after 40 years - Leading 7 India-specific scientific experiments - Representing… — Dr Jitendra Singh (@DrJitendraSingh) July 4, 2025 'This milestone marks the resurgence of India's human spaceflight journey under the visionary leadership of Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi,' Mr. Singh said. During his amateur radio interaction, Group Captain Shukla said global collaboration was the key to the success of a mission like the International Space Station. 'Agencies like NASA, ISRO, SpaceX, Axiom, ESA, JAXA, everyone is coming together to make this mission successful. I realise the power of global collaboration for making such missions happen. So, definitely global collaboration is the key,' Group Captain Shukla said. Shukla is on a 14-day mission to the International Space Station as part of a joint ISRO-NASA project.