Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force is going to make history. Shubhanshu will be the first Indian to step on the International Space Station. Let's know special things about him...

A historic moment is about to come for India, when Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force will write a new chapter in space. Shubhanshu will be the first Indian to step on the International Space Station (ISS). Shubhanshu Shukla was born on 10 October 1985 in Triveni Nagar, Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. He grew up in a simple family and made discipline and hard work a part of his life since childhood.

He did his early education from City Montessori School, Lucknow. After this, he was selected in the National Defense Academy (NDA) of Pune, from where he obtained a degree in Engineering (B.Tech). But it was not in his nature to stop here, he went ahead and also did M.Tech from IISc, Bangalore.

Brilliant military career

In 2006, Shubhanshu started his service in the Indian Air Force. He is an experienced fighter pilot and has flown many fighter and transport aircraft like MiG-21, MiG-29, Sukhoi-30 MKI, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier and AN-32 so far. In March 2024, he was given the rank of Group Captain.

First step towards space

In 2019, ISRO selected Shubhanshu for astronaut training for the Gaganyaan mission. He underwent rigorous training for about a year at the Yuri Gagarin Training Center in Russia. In February 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi included him among the four potential astronauts of Gaganyaan. Although the Gaganyaan mission will be launched in 2025, but before that Shubhanshu is being sent to space under the Axiom-4 mission. His call sign in this mission will be – 'Shux'.

Representation of both science and culture

A total of 60 scientific experiments will be conducted in the Axiom-4 mission, out of which 7 have been designed by ISRO. Shubhanshu will actively participate in 5 of these, which are related to NASA's human research program. Shubhanshu believes that this mission is not just his personal journey, but a representation of the hopes and dreams of 140 crore Indians. He is also going to take India's culture, diversity and yoga to space. Shubhanshu is fondly called 'Gunjan' in the family. His wife is a dentist and they have a four-year-old son. Shubhanshu follows a strict diet and exercise routine to keep himself fit.