India still looks saare jahan se accha from space: Shukla
Shukla and three other astronauts – commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu of Poland and Hungary –docked at the ISS on June 26 as part of the commercial Axiom-4 mission. The four astronauts are scheduled to undock from the ISS on Monday, July 14, at 4.35pm IST, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a statement.
'Jaldi hi dharti pe mulaqat karte hai (we will meet on earth soon),' Shukla said at a formal farewell ceremony onboard the ISS on Sunday.
Recalling the time his icon Rakesh Sharma had travelled to space 41 years ago and described how India looked from there, Shukla said: 'We all are still curious to know how India looks today from above. Aaj ka Bharat mahatvakanshi dikhta hai. Aaj ka Bharat nidar dikhta hai, Aaj ka Bharat confident dikhta hai. Aaj ka Bharat garv se purn dikhta hai. (Today's India looks full of ambition, fearless, confident and full of pride).'
He added: 'It is because of all these reasons, I can say it once again that today's India still looks 'saare jahan se accha'.'
Shukla said while the 'incredible' travel to space has ended, it's the beginning of India's human space flight mission. 'The journey of our human space mission is long and tough. But if we make up our mind, even the stars as re attainable,' he said.
He added: 'Going back, I am carrying with me a lot of memories and learnings from the mission. One thing that sticks to me is what humanity is capable of when all of us come from different parts of the world and work for a common objective or a goal.'
Other members of the team also shared their experiences.
'The impact of the mission will be much greater than the scientific results we will all achieve... We will return home and now spread the word to in our countries that these things are within our reach and are possible even for smaller countries like ours,' said Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu.
Thanking Axiom Space, NASA and SpaceX, Polish astronaut Uznanski-Wisniewski said ISS is an important laboratory that must be preserved. 'Look where we can go if we work together and collaborate on a common science platform. Then sky is no longer the limit.'
Shukla and the three other astronauts are expected to board the spacecraft at 2.25 pm IST, wear their space suits and carry out the necessary tests before they begin their journey to the Earth.
The ISS is orbiting the Earth at a speed of 28,000 kilometres per hour, and the spacecraft will initiate the autonomous undocking process to gradually slow down and re-enter the planet's atmosphere for a splashdown off the coast of California.
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