A bit heavy-headed, but excited: Shubhanshu Shukla's 1st message from ISS

His statement came after he, along with the other crew members, entered the International Space Station (ISS) following the successful docking of their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft

After entering the International Space Station (ISS), Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Thursday said he was feeling a little heavy-headed, but that it did not matter because the excitement of the mission was greater.

 

Speaking in Hindi, Gp Capt Shukla said, “A small message for my beloved fellow Indians, with your love and blessings, I have reached the International Space Station. It might seem easy, but our heads feel a little heavy, though none of that matters.”

 

“We’ll get used to it in a few days. In the coming days, we will conduct many scientific experiments. I will continue to talk to you all. I am very excited, and I wear my country’s flag on my shoulders with pride. I believe all of you are equally excited about this journey. Thank you. Jai Hind. Jai Bharat,” he added, as quoted by news agency PTI.

 

 

VIDEO | Axiom-4 Mission: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla enters the International Space Station (ISS). Speaking in Hindi, Shukla says, "A small message for my beloved fellow Indians, with your love and blessings, I have reached the International Space Station. It might seem easy,… pic.twitter.com/yzMSsNFdbV

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 26, 2025

 

The statement from space came after he, along with the other crew members, entered the ISS following the successful docking of their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. 

 

Gp Capt Shukla’s crew includes former National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) astronaut Peggy Whitson, European Space Agency astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

 

What will he do at the ISS? 

As part of the mission, Shukla will spend 14 days aboard the ISS, where he will conduct a series of scientific experiments focused on food and nutrition in microgravity. The experiments aim to advance space nutrition and support the development of self-sustaining life support systems essential for long-duration space exploration.

 

Shukla’s research is part of a collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Nasa.