New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Friday met Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla at Rashtrapati Bhavan to discuss his historic mission to the International Space Station (ISS), marking the first such achievement by an Indian. During the interaction, Shukla briefed the President about his role as part of the crew and the various experiments conducted in space, including studies on Tardigrades, Myogenesis, methi and moong seed sprouting, Cyanobacteria, Microalgae, and crop seeds.

Shukla was accompanied by Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Punyashlok Biswal, ISRO Chairman and Secretary of the Department of Space Dr. V Narayanan, and Director of the Human Space Flight Centre, Dinesh Kumar Singh. The President extended her best wishes to Shukla and his team for future space missions, particularly the Gaganyaan mission, India’s first human spaceflight program.

Earlier, on August 19, Shukla met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sharing his space experiences and photos taken from the ISS. He described the challenges of readapting to Earth’s gravity, saying, “The brain takes time to understand that we have to walk. When I came back, I was not able to walk, and people had to hold me up.” He also highlighted the enthusiasm of his crewmates for India’s upcoming Gaganyaan mission.

Shukla emphasized India’s growing prominence in global space research, sharing that international interactions over the past year have reflected curiosity and admiration for India’s space achievements. India is set to celebrate its second National Space Day on Saturday, commemorating the nation’s journey from satellite launches to human spaceflight. Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh, noted that on August 23, under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, India became the fourth nation to land on the Moon and the first to reach its South Pole, inspiring future space endeavors.