'Learning like a baby' Shubhanshu Shukla's message from space

The 4 astronauts interacted with their respective countrymen from spacecraft in their native language

- BOSKY KHANNA @Bengaluru

"I am learning everything like a baby. Learning how to take baby steps, how to walk, and how to eat in the capsule," said India's Gaganyatri Shubhanshu Shukla from the Dragon spacecraft Grace on Thursday morning before the spacecraft docked with the International Space Station (ISS).

The four astronauts — Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of the human spaceflight mission Axiom-4 from the US, along with Shukla and mission specialists Stawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary — shared videos and images of them sharing light moments in the spacecraft. They interacted with their respective countrymen from the spacecraft in their native language.

The mission was launched on June 25, 2025, after multiple delays, at 12.01am IST from the Launch Complex 39A of Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

In a monologue communication with all countrymen, Shukla said, "After a month-long quarantine, I started from the location where the Apollo Moon Mission had launched. The Tricolour that I carry on my shoulder is constantly reminding me that I am not alone." Shukla also greeted all Indians in Hindi, just as he had on Day 1, soon after the launch of the mission.