Panchkula: The four-day India International Science Festival was formally inaugurated on December 6 in Sector-5, Panchkula. The first day of the festival proved extremely inspiring for students, youth, and people interested in science. Children were filled with excitement to have Bharatiya astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla among them.
Sharing the experiences of his space mission, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla said that the view of Bharat from space appears magnificent, and our country seems “better than the entire world.” He mentioned that during his nearly 20-day space journey, he conducted several scientific experiments and gathered important information for the Gaganyaan mission, which will add a new chapter to Bharat’s human space-flight programme. Apart from this, he also conducted experiments on Bharat-centric food, medicines, and new technologies.
Shubhanshu Shukla said that Bharat is progressing rapidly in the fields of science and technology, and it is a matter of pride for every Bharatiya that the country is becoming self-reliant in this domain. He appealed to youth, especially children, to move forward in the direction of science and space research. He said that the responsibility of realising the dream of Viksit Bharat 2047 rests on the shoulders of the youth. “When the youth progresses, the nation progresses.” He also said that the growing interest of children in science is encouraging, and teachers too must take responsibility for guiding children towards realising their dreams of becoming astronauts.
During the interactive session, Shubhanshu Shukla answered the questions of students and youth and addressed their curiosities. He said that the day in 2018 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced from the Red Fort that soon our son or daughter from Bharat would go to space—that announcement awakened within him the inspiration to go to space. From that very day, he began making continuous efforts in this direction. He said that whatever the circumstances may be, a person must keep trying; success comes sooner or later.
In response to a student’s question that whether one can become an astronaut only by being in the Air Force, he said that a new framework is being prepared under which not only the Air Force or Armed Forces, but people from other fields as well will be able to become astronauts.
He said that the inspiration he received from Bharat’s first astronaut, Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, gave him the courage to reach this milestone. He expressed confidence that in the coming times, more people from Bharat will go to space.
He also shared that Bharat is now working seriously on the Gaganyaan mission, and the mission Aditya-L1, for studying the Sun, has been successfully launched.
